ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE 


McGraw-Hill  BookGompany 


Electrical  World         The  Engineering  andMimng  Journal 
Engineering  Record  Engineering  News 

Railway  Age  G  azette  American  Machinist 

Signal  E,ngin<?0r  American  Engineer 

Electric  Railway  Journal  Coal  Age 

Metallurgical  and  Chemical  Engineering  P o  we  r 


ELECTRIC   CAR 

MAINTENANCE 


SELECTED  FROM  THE 
ELECTRIC  RAILWAY  JOURNAL 


BY 
WALTER  JACKSON 

ASSOCIATE     EDITOR,    ELECTRIC   RAILWAY   JOURNAL 


FIRST  EDITION 


McGRAW-HILL  BOOK  COMPANY,  INC. 

239  WEST  39TH  STREET,  NEW  YORK 

6  BOUVERIE  STREET  LONDON,  E.  C. 

1914 


Engineering 
Library 


COPYRIGHT,  1914,  BY  THE 
MCGRAW-HILL  BOOK  COMPANY <  INC, 


THE- MAPLE- PBKS8. YORK- PA 


PREFACE 

The  articles  on  " Electric  Car  Maintenance"  have  been  selected 
from  the  columns  of  the  Electric  Railway  Journal  exclusively  except 
that  some  braking  and  wiring  diagrams  were  added  in  order  to  secure 
a  more  extensive  series  of  shop  instruction  prints.  It  is  believed  that 
this  work  should  find  ready  acceptance  among  those  who  are  in  charge 
of  the  maintenance  of  electric  railway  cars  because  it  places  in  such 
convenient  form  a  great  deal  of  useful  data  which  hitherto  had  been 
lost  to  most  shopmen  within  a  few  months  after  the  original  publication 
in  periodical  form.  As  a  rule,  the  methods  described  are  such  as  require 
no  costly  apparatus  and  of  a  kind  which  can  be  applied  to  a  great 
many  situations.  Unlike  a  text-book,  a  shop  practice  compilation  of  this 
kind  remains  up  to  date  as  long  as  the  equipment  described  is  in  use,  and 
even  longer,  since  many  of  the  labor-saving  methods  are  applicable  to  any 
form  of  car  equipment. 

W.  J. 

NEW  YORK, 
February,  1914. 


234595 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

PREFACE    .    . v 

CHAPTER  I 

MECHANICAL  APPLIANCES  FOR  TRAIN  OPERATION  ..    .    .    .    .    .    .        ;    .    .        .       1 

Carrying  air  connections  in  Denver — Chain  carry-iron  for  draw-bars — 
Special  bumpers  to  prevent  overriding — Inter-dashboard  spring — Coupler 
with  signal  and  lighting  attachments — Train  cables  covered  with  rubber 
hose — Jumper  testing  in  Brooklyn. 

CHAPTER  II 

NON-ELECTRICAL  PARTS  OF  THE  CARBODY  ................  6 

Wrapping  rusty  hand  rails — Wood-cushioned  bumpers  for  steel  cars — To 
hold  machine  screws — Standard  sizes  in  shop  drawings — Renewing  cement 
floors — Clean  air  for  single-end  arch-roof  cars — Reducing  platform  wear  by 
using  reinforcing  strips — An  unusual  trap-door  lift — Steel  car  panels  over 
wood — Home-made  safety  tread — Babbit  bearing  for  door  rollers — Prevent- 
ing accidents  from  opening  gates — An  insulated  roof  for  electric  locomotives 
— Protecting  rattan  seats — Protecting  rubber  seat  buffers  on  open  cars — 
Seating  and  curtain  practice  in  Brooklyn — Easel  for  curtain  painting — 
Richmond  bell  and  register  fixture — Ringing  up  two  registers  from  one  rod — 
Conductor's  transfer  box — Car-wiring  methods  in  Denver. 

CHAPTER  III 

BRAKE  EQUIPMENTS  AND  BRAKE  RIGGING .    . .'., 21 

A  simple  improvement  in  brake  rigging  pins — Brake  hangers  in  Richmond 
— A  light-weight  brake  hanger — Drilling  jig  for  brake  hanger — Improved 
truck  brake  rigging — Instruction  prints  and  jigs  for  gaging  brake  rigging — 
Brake  leverage  diagrams  at  Brooklyn — Brake  leverage  diagrams  at  Hartford 
— Rusting  of  air-hose  nipples — Tightening  compressor  motor  bearings — 
Rebushing  air-compressor  cylinders  at  Richmond — Adjusting  Westing- 
house  electric  pump  governor — Clasp  brake  rigging. 

CHAPTER  IV 

TRUCKS,  WHEELS  AND  AXLES    ............ 38 

New  design  for  swing  link — Rub-irons  for  journal  boxes  and  pedestals — 
Hartford  wheel  gage — A  twofold  wheel  gage — Indianapolis  wheel  practice 
and  gages — Axle-bearing  sleeves — Brooklyn  wheel  practice  and  gages — 
Wheel  changing  at  Mobile. 

vii 


vin  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  V 

PAGE 

CLEANSING    BY   DIPPING  OR  SAND-BLASTING,   CAR   WASHING,    PAINTING  AND 

GLAZING 46 

Caustic-soda  baths  for  trucks  and  motors — Sand-blasting  at  San  Francisco 
— Car  cleaning  in  Denver — Instantaneous  electric  water  heater  for  car 
washing  at  Cincinnati — Motor-driven  car-washing  device — Combined  suc- 
tion and  pressure  apparatus  for  car  cleaning — Disappearing  scaffold  for 
washing  cars — Heating  water  for  car  washing — A  power- driven  car  cleaner — 
Car  washing  versus  paint  preservation — Painter's  scaffold  at  San  Fran- 
cisco— Painting  fenders  by  dipping — Painting  fenders  and  trucks  with  an 
air-brush — A  paint  shop  kink  in  drying  racks — Handling  varnish  by  air 
pressure — Sand-blasting  of  cars — Sand-blasting  at  Syracuse — Cheap  transfer 
type  signs  on  glass — Frosting  glass  at  Syracuse — Gear-washing  machine. 

CHAPTER  VI 

SANDERS  AND  SANDING  DEVICES,  SCRAPERS,  BROOMS 61 

A  Removable  sand  hopper — Air  sander  on  interurban  cars — Simple  sanding 
device  at  Rochester — A  novel  sand-drying  plant — Snow  scraper  for  limited 
clearance  space — Jig  for  boring  sweeper  broom  centers — Rattan  broorn- 
filling  machine  at  Milwaukee. 

CHAPTER  VII 

LUBRICATION ....'. 69 

Capillary  oiler — Oxy-acetylene  process  for  changing  grease  to  oil  lubrication 
— Oil  box  for  grease-type  motors — Integral  oil  cups  in  Brooklyn — Lubrication 
in  Brooklyn — Keeping  oil  warm — Keeping  oil  warm  at  Hartford — Oil  economy 
at  New  Orleans — Oil  reclaiming  tank — A  siphon  for  emptying  oil  barrels — 
Water  saturating  and  renovating  plant  at  Chicago — Safety  waste  cans  at 
Chicago — Reclaiming  compressor  oil  in  Brooklyn. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

BEARING  PRACTICE 84 

Cast-iron  armature  bearings  and  motor  axle  linings — Bearing  practice  at 
New  Orleans — Bearing  practice  at  Columbus — Bearing  metals  in  Richmond 
— Bearing  composition  for  armatures  and  journals — Removing  and  replac- 
ing motor  bearings — Adapting  a  shaper  for  planing  journal  bearings — 
Chuck  for  boring  bearings — Lathe  attachment  for  boring  and  facing  arma- 
ture bearings — Non-babbit  bearings — Boring  motor  bearings  on  a  con- 
verted planer — A  standard  method  for  rebabbitting  bearings. 

CHAPTER  IX 

CURRENT-COLLECTING  DEVICES. 95 

Trolley  wheel  formula — Trolley  wheel  manufacture  at  New  Orleans — 
Atlanta  trolley  wheel  practice — Trolley  wheel  practice  and  casting  formula 
at  Boston — The  roller  trolley — A  rotating  spiral  sleet  cutter — Repairing  a 
trolley  retriever — Trolley-stand  repairs — Trolley-adjusting  device — Truss- 


CONTENTS  ix 

PAGE 

supported  trolley  bases  at  Mobile — Telltale  for  third-rail  shoe  tripper 
signal — Removal  plate  for  third-rail  shoe — A  sleet-removing  device  for  ex- 
posed third  rails — Pneumatic  sleet  shoe  used  by  Michigan  United  Railways. 

CHAPTER  X 

MOTORS  AND  GEARING 103 

Paving  clearance  gage  for  motor  shells — Sealed  grease  hole  cover  for  gear 
cases — Providence  coil  practice — Brooklyn  field-coil  practice — Coil  work  by 
West  Penn.  Railways — Coil  practice  at  Baltimore — Field  coils  on  Third 
Avenue  Railway,  N.  Y. — A  field  coil  repair  economy — Coil  terminal  an- 
chorage— Blowing  out  armatures — Commutator  leads  at  Indianapolis — 
Some  Toronto  electrical  practices — Applying  banding  wire — Brooklyn  ar- 
mature and  commutator  practice — Deep  commutator  slotting  at  New  Orleans 
— Commutator  building  at  Toronto — Method  of  recording  wear  of  gears 
and  pinions — Experience  with  slotted  commutators  on  railway  motors — 
Splicing  with  silver  solder — Portable  transformer  for  testing  armatures — 
Broken  commutator  leads — Sparking  at  commutators — Brush-holder  jigs  at 
Providence — Brush-holder  jigs  and  armature  clearance  gages  at  Toronto — 
Brush-holder  troubles — Some  brush-holder  experiences — Field  testing  at 
Brooklyn — Armature  testing  at  Brooklyn — Armature  testing  at  Cincinnati — 
Motor  testing  at  the  Indianapolis  railway  shops — Impregnation  of  field  coils 
at  Brooklyn — Impregnation  practice  at  Anderson,  Ind. — Motor  lead  connec- 
tions— Railway  motor  connections — Motor  data  sheet,  Hartford. 

CHAPTER  XI 

CONTROL,  CIRCUIT-BREAKERS,  CONTROLLERS,  RESISTANCES  AND  GENERAL  TESTS  146 
Controller  changes,  Third  avenue  railway — Controller  maintenance  in 
Brooklyn — A  novel  arrangement  of  motor  control — Controller  work  at 
Toronto — Simplified  controller  diagrams — Montreal  apparatus  for  testing 
circuit-breakers — Changes  in  multiple-unit  control  circuits  at  Brooklyn — 
Improving  resistances  in  Brooklyn — Resistances  with  removable  grids — 
Resistance  adjustment  at  Indianapolis — Calculation  of  resistance  and  rate 
of  acceleration — Installation  and  connection  of  grid  resistances — Construc- 
tion of  grid  starting  coils — Resistors  for  street  railway  service — Practical 
.shunting  kink — To  remove  brushes  on  GE  circuit  breakers — Addition  of 
mechanical  reverser  throw — Simplifying  the  B-8  controller  by  eliminating 
the  braking  feature — Standard  car  connections — Practical  shunting  kink. 

CHAPTER  XII 

HEATERS,  LIGHTING,  SIGNS  AND  SIGNALS 175 

Brooklyn  heater  testing — Specializing  electric  heater  maintenance  in 
Brooklyn — A  stand  for  headlight  resistance  coils — Assembling  glass  in 
headlight  doors — Step-lighting  device  for  Saginaw  prepayment  cars — 
Method  used  for  lighting  markers  electrically— Novel  route  signs  on  the 
Peoria  (111.)  Railway — Detroit  United  train  number  sign — Manufacturing 
sign  boxes  and  signs — Route  number  signs  at  Baltimore — Painting  illumina- 
tion destination  signs  at  Nashville,  Tenn. — Conductor's  push-button 
signal. 


x  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XIII 

PAGE 

WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC '..'..    186 

Oxy-acetylene  welding  at  Hartford — Electric  welding  in  Pittsburg — 
Electric  arc  welding — Electric  arc  welding  by  the  Third  Avenue  Railway, 
New  York — Portable  heater  at  San  Francisco — Tool  for  driving  nails  in 
inaccessible  positions — Home-made  metal  cutter — Wrecking  truck  used  in 
Pittsburg — Home-made  car  hoist  of  the  Choctaw  Railway  &  Light  Com- 
pany— Cross  pit  truck  transfer  table — Convenient  car  horse  used  in  Denver 
— An  hydraulic  car  lift,  employing  cables — Repair  shop  car  wheel  truck — 
An  inspection  pit  safety  device — Protection  of  workmen  at  Southern 
Pacific  Electric  Shops — A  novel  axle  straightener — Lathe  attachment  for 
boring  bearings — Handling  long  timbers — A  handy  armature  truck — 
An  armature  wagon — Ingenious  pinion  puller — Armature  truck  of  skeleton 
type — Lathe  as  slotter  and  bander — Commutator  slotting  at  Boston — A 
commutator  slotter — Louisville  Railway  slotting  machine — Improved  com- 
mutator slotter — Wrench  for  commutator  nuts — Wheel  grinding  at  Syracuse 
— Boring  wheels  with  a  lathe — Storeroom  shelves  at  Syracuse — A  handy 
blueprint  frame — A  gas  burner  for  expanding  tires. 

CHAPTER  XIV 

INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES  FOR  SHOPMEN '.    .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .   221 

From  125  to  150  wiring  diagrams  covering  motors,  controllers,  resistances, 
heaters,  lighting  and  other  features  of  car  circuits. 

INDEX.  .  .271 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


MECHANICAL  APPLIANCES  FOR  TRAIN   OPERATION 

Carrying  Air  Connections  in  Denver. — On  the  Denver  &  Interurban 
Railway  the  air  connections  between  the  motor  car  and  trailer  are  carried 
up  on  the  dash  several  feet  above  the  bumper  instead  of  being  under 
the  .bumper.  This  is  claimed  to  have  two  advantages.  One  is  that  it 
is  easier  to  couple  up  the  connections  when  they  are  in  plain  sight  in  this 
way.  The  other  is  that  the  hose  is  out  of  the  dirt  and  is  not  sO  much 
subject  to  wear. 

Chain  Carry-iron  for  Draw-bars. — The  Little  Rock  (Ark.)  Railway  & 
Electric  Company  uses  the  improved  form  of  draw-bar  carry-iron  on  its 


Chain  carry-iron  for  draw-bars,  Little  Rock,  Ark. 


trailers,  shown  herewith.  This  consists  simply  of  a  pair  of  chains  so  that 
in  rounding  curves  the  draw-bar  carry-iron  is  allowed  to  swing.  Thus 
the  amplitude  of  the  coupler  arc  is  increased  and  the  derailment  or  damage 
of  trailers  on  sharp  curves  is  prevented. 

Special  Bumpers  to  Prevent  Overriding. — In  1909  safety  bumpers 
were  added  to  all  of  the  high  suburban  cars  of  the  Detroit  United  Railway. 
The  additional  bumpers  have  a  depth  of  10  in.  and  will  prevent  overriding 
if  the  suburban  cars  come  in  contact  with  city  cars  having  low  platforms. 
An  accompanying  illustration  presents  a  side  sectional  view  of  the  floor 
of  a  car  with  the  safety  bumper  installed.  At  each  end  of  the  car  two 
10-in.  I-beams  5  ft.  5  in.  long  are  bolted  to  wooden  sills  and  are  butted 

1 


2  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

against  the  end  sill?  of  the  car.  The  I-beams  are  held  vertically  and  are 
spaced  26  in.  apart  between  centers.  At  the  bumping  end  they  are  blocked 
apart  and  are  sheathed  or»  the  outside  with  metal  J  in.  thick. 


Non-climbing  bumper  for  suburban  cars  of  Detroit  United  Railway. 

Inter-dashboard  Spring. — The  accompanying  drawing  shows  a  spring 
which  is  installed  between  the  dashboards  of  cars  of  the  International 
Railway,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  to  prevent  passengers  from  getting  in  between 
cars  that  are  operated  in  trains.  The  spring  is  wound  up  from  3/16-in. 
steel  wire,  and  the  ends  are  coned  to  form  a  socket  for  the  eyes  of  the 
hooks.  This  arrangement  produces  a  simple  and  effective  swivel  connec- 
tion between  the  hooks  and  the  spring.  The  springs  are  made  of  such 
lengths  as  to  bring  them  nearly  taut  in  the  normal  position  of  the  cars. 


HOOK  SET  IN  LOOSE 

Springs  for  train  platforms  in  Buffalo. 

Coupler  with  Signal  and  Lighting  Attachments. — In  equipping  its 
new  trailers  the  United  Railways  of  St.  Louis  has  greatly  simplified  the 
coupling  of  motor  and  trail  cars  by  some  home-made  additions  to  the 
standard  form  of  Tomlinson  coupler.  As  shown  in  the  upper  drawing 
on  page  3,  the  coupler  has  been  provided  with  two  wooden  blocks  carrying 
three  spring  contacts.  Two  of  these  contacts  are  used  for  the  signal 
circuit  and  one  for  the  lighting  circuits.  Thus  at  one  operation  the  coupler 
couples  the  cars,  air,  lights  and  signals. 


MECHANICAL  APPLIANCES  FOR  TRAIN  OPERATION 


Train  Cables  Covered  with  Rubber  Hose  (By  George  M.  Coleman). — 
The  lower  illustration  on  this  page  shows  a  train  cable  and  bus  line  jump- 


CENTER  LINE  OF  COUPLER 


WOOD  BLOCK  MUST  BE 
—  FITTED  TO  IRREGULAR 
SURFACE  OF  DRAW  BAR 


St.  Louis  coupler  with  signal  and  lighting  connections. 


NO.  1 

13  L: 


NO.  2 


Cable  and  bus  line  jumpers  for  train  cables  covered  with  rubber  hose. 

ers  for  connecting  two  Sprague  General  Electric  multiple-unit  cars.     By 
using  a  covering  of  rubber  hose  the  jumper  is  made  absolutely  moisture- 


4  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

proof,  the  cable  is  kept  from  wearing  out  and  good  insulation  is  insured. 
This  hose  can  be  easily  replaced  when  worn  out. 

Sketch  No.  1  shows  the  train  cable  jumper  complete.  After  the  hose 
is  cut  to  the  proper  length  it  is  fitted  with  threaded  collars  (D),  the  threads 
being  placed  toward  the  outer  edge.  The  couplers  (C)  are  painted  and 
forced  on  the  ends  of  the  hose,  after  which  small  screw  contacts  are 
soldered  on  the  end  of  the  cable  and  assembled  in  the  insulated  block  (F) . 
The  cable  is  then  drawn  through  the  hose  and  pulled  out  far  enough  to 
solder  on  the  small  screw  contacts.  After  this  an  iron  clamp  is  clamped 
on  the  hose  to  keep  the  cable  from  slipping  back  into  it.  The  contacts 
are  assembled  in  the  other  block  (F)  and  the  threaded  collar  (D)  is 
screwed  into  place  on  each  end. 


OUTLINE   OF    RECEPTACLE  LID 


Seven-point  jumper  and  receptacle  gage,  Brooklyn. 

Sketch  No.  2  represents  the  bus  line  jumper  complete.  After  the 
hose  is  cut  to  the  proper  length  the  couplers  (A)  are  painted  and  forced 
on  the  hose.  The  small  terminal  (B)  is  soldered  on  one  end  of  the  cable. 
The  terminal  is  inserted  in  the  insulated  block  (C)  and  the  contact  (D) 
screwed  into  place.  The  cable  is  drawn  through  the  hose  and  clamped, 
then  the  other  end  is  assembled  and  the  collar  (E)  is  screwed  into  place, 
making  the  entire  outfit  moisture-proof. 

Jumper  Testing  in  Brooklyn. — The  shops  of  the  Brooklyn  Rapid 
Transit  System  where  elevated  equipment  is  maintained  are  equipped 
with  seven-point  jumper  testing  outfits  as  illustrated.  The  test  part  is 
fitted  with  jumper  receptacles  and  with  sixteen  5-ohm  coils  so  wired  that 
a  current  of  50  amp.  will  pass  in  series  through  all  of  the  wires  of  the  test 
jumpers.  As  the  normal  service  current  which  passes  through  these 


MECHANICAL  APPLIANCES  FOR  TRAIN  OPERATION  5 

jumpers  is  not  more  than  2  amp.  to  3  amp.,  a  trial  with  50  amp.  results 
in  burning  out  any  weak  connections  such  as  are  due  to  the  abrasion  of 
wire  or  similar  causes.  A  fuse  is  installed  to  limit  the  testing  current 
to  50  amp.  There  is  also  a  lighting  circuit  of  five  115-volt,  16-c.p.  lamps 
to  indicate  that  the  jumper  circuit  is  closed.  If  the  lamps  light  up  but 
go  out  immediately,  the  operator  knows  that  the  connection  has  been 


MATERIAL   REQUIRED  FOR  TESTING  SETS 

NO. 
REQ'D 

DESCRIPTION 

2 

WEST.  7  POINT  RECEPTACLES 

16 

CONSOL.   NO.  03   HEATERS-5  OHM  COILS 

5 

115  VOLT-16  C.P-   LAMPS 

1 

"NOARK"  FUSE-SO  AMP—BOO  VOLTS 

1 

FUSE  BLOCK  FOfi"NOARK"FUSE-30  TO  50  AMP. 

NO  ft  WIRP     T   n 

6   2 

LINE) 
FOOT-OPERATED  SWITCH 


Wiring  diagram  of  board  for  train  line  jumper  tests,  Brooklyn. 

burned  out.  This  test  board  also  carries  a  jumper  and  receptacle  gage, 
of  the  design  shown  in  the  drawing,  to  make  certain  that  good  train-line 
connections  will  be  secured  without  having  recourse  to  a  hammer  or  other 
violent  means.  The  inspection  of  jumpers  is  made  once  a  month  upon 
which  occasion  a  streak  of  red  or  green  paint  is  applied  to  indicate  the 
month  when  the  test  was  made. 


II 

NON-ELECTRICAL  PARTS  OF  THE  CARBODY 

Wrapping  Rusty  Hand  Rails. — In  many  sections  of  the  country  where 
the  humidity  is  comparatively  high  considerable  difficulty  is  experienced 
in  eliminating  damage  to  clothing  from  rust  accumulation  on  the  hand 
rails.  This  difficulty  is  experienced  particularly  in  Texas  and  has  been 
overcome  by  the  application  of  linen  tape  coated  with  shellac  on  portions 
of  the  hand  rails  in  the  vestibules  of  the  prepayment  cars.  Those  portions 
of  the  hand  rails  and  stanchions  which  might  come  in  contact  with  the 
passengers'  clothing  are  wrapped  with  one  layer  of  linen  tape  and  receive 
three  coats  of  shellac.  After  a  comparatively  short  period  in  service,  the 
surface  of  the  paint  wears  as  smooth  as  the  iron  rail,  and  there  is  no  tend- 
ency for  it  to  ravel. 

Wood -cushioned  Bumpers  for  Steel  Cars. — The  Montreal  Street 
Railway  has  found  that  a  disadvantageous  feature  of  steel  cars,  as  ordi- 


Electric  By-Journal 


Wooden  buffer  block,  Montreal. 


narily  constructed,  is  the  tendency  toward  the  loosening  of  rivets  and 
buckling  of  members  under  impacts  which,  within  certain  limits,  would  be 
readily  absorbed  by  a  wooden  car.  The  shock  of  steel  against  steel  at 
only  2  m.p.h.  was  enough  to  produce  serious  damage.  To  avoid  trouble 
from  this  source  in  the  future,  the  continuous  bumper  channel  has  been 

6 


NON-ELECTRICAL  PARTS  OF  THE  CARBODY  7 

superseded  by  the  construction  illustrated  in  which  a  central  box  girder 
with  a  cushion  block  of  ash  is  used.  This  construction  has  been  found 
capable  of  absorbing  impacts  of  5  m.p.h.  without  starting  a  rivet. 


JSlectric  By-Journal 

Wood-backed  buffer  for  steel-frame  street  car,  Montreal. 

To  Hold  Machine  Screws. — It  is  often  necessary  to  run  the  thread 
further  down  on  machine  screws,  to  cut  them  shorter,  or  to  file  them  to  a 
point.  To  hold  them  between  the  jaws  of  a  vise  spoils  the  head  and  will 
not  hold  the  screw  firmly.  The  jig  shown  in  the  accompanying  cut  is 
very  simple  and  easily  made,  and  will  hold  any  screw  with  a  slot. 


d 


0 


Device  for  holding  machine  screws. 

A  is  a  piece  of  iron  3/4  in.  wide,  1/8  in.  thick  and  4  in.  long,  tapered 
down  to  3/8  in.,  so  it  can  be  adjusted  to  fit  any  size  head.  Bevel  the  edge 
so  it  will  fit  slot  in  the  screw  as  in  A .  B  is  made  from  the  same  size  iron, 
2  1/4  in.  long.  C  and  D  are  2  in.  high. 

2 


8 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


Cut  a  slot  1/8  in.X3/4  in.  in  C,  and  in  D  1/8  in.  X 1/2  in.  Drill  a 
1/4-in.  hole  in  the  center  of  B,  as  shown  in  the  sketch,  to  hold  the  screw. 
Place  the  screw  into  the  1/4-in.  hole  in  B  and  slide  the  tapered  bar  A 
through  the  oblong  hole  in  C  into  the  screw  slot  and  then  through  the 
oblong  hole  in  D.  Strike  the  end  of  the  bar  lightly  with  a  hammer,  so  it 
will  hold  the  screw  firmly.  The  jig  can  be  clamped  (C)  into  the  vise  and 
the  necessary  work  done. 

Standard  Sizes  in  Shop  Drawings. — Standardization  in  drawings  may 
not  be  as  profitable  as  in  apparatus,  but  it  is  both  economical  and  con- 


— utf — 


MOLDINGS 

VA.  R'WY  &  POWER  CO. 


Standard  Richmond  shop  print  for  car  moldings. 


venient  to  confine  practically  all  shop  prints  to  two  sizes,  one  for  details 
and  the  other  for  assembling.  This  is  done  by  the  Virginia  Railway  & 
Power  Company,  which  uses  sheets  9  in.  X14  in.  and  14  in.X22  in.  in 
size.  The  extent  to  which  this  company  records  its  standards  for  the 
education  of  the  employees  may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  even  car- 
molding  drawings  like  those  reproduced  are  made  and  indicated  by  style 
numbers.  This  practice  not  only  helps  the  mill-room,  but  eliminates  all 
confusion  in  the  ordering  of  supplies,  because  the  storekeeper  is  not  left 
in  doubt  as  to  what  is  wanted. 


NON-ELECTRICAL  PARTS  OF  THE  CARBODY 


9 


Renewing  Cement  Floors. — Early  in  1911  the  Hudson  Companies 
found  it  necessary  to  renew  the  top  surface  of  the  composition  cement 
car  flooring,  which  had  worn  out  at  the  doors  and  opposite  the  seat  risers 
after  two  years'  service.  In  placing  the  new  flooring  two  important 
changes  were  applied  as  follows:  The  flooring  was  laid  perfectly  flat 
instead  of  being  crowned,  so  that  there  is  no  thinning  out  at  the  very  place 
at  which  the  wear  is  greatest,  namely,  opposite  the  risers,  where  there  is 
a  great  deal  of  shuffling  by  passengers;  the  top  dressing  is  1/2  in.  instead 
of  3/8  in.  thick.  The  underlying  layer  of  these  floors,  which  was  not 
touched,  is  about  7/8  in.  thick  at  the  deepest  point  of  the  keystone  section 
floor.  The  cement-covered  area  of  the  floor  section  and  vestibules  of  a 
car  is  265  sq.  ft.  The  net  cost  of  removing  the  top  dressing  is  $2  and  the 
cost  of  laying  the  new  dressing  $4  per  car.  The  cement,  after  requiring 
some  five  hours'  preparation,  will  set  sufficiently  well  over  night  to  permit 
the  car  to  go  into  service. 

Clean  Air  for  Single -end  Arch-roof  Cars. — Like  so  many  other  com- 
panies, the  Montreal  Street  Railway  has  adopted  the  single-arch  roof, 


Material  No.20  Gage    Galvanized  Iron 


" " "  4"~         '      . 
.     Rear  End  View       '  Cross  Section 

Montreal  cars — deflector  box  for  obtaining  purified  air. 

the  first  cars  of  this  type  having  been  ordered  during  December,  1912. 
Each  roof  is  fitted  with  eight  ventilators,  which  are  placed  in  pairs.  The 
difficulty  of  supplying  clean  air  from  openings  near  the  street  level  has 
been  solved  by  means  of  the  dust  deflector  box  shown  in  an  accompanying 
drawing.  This  consists  merely  of  an  open  galvanized  iron  box  containing 
a  pair  of  deflectors.  For  the  single-end  cars  standard  in  Montreal  these 
deflectors  are  so  placed  that  the  dust  particles  of  the  entering  air  are  forced 
downward  and  out  at  the  rear  as  they  impinge  against  the  larger  deflector. 
The  cleansed  air  passes  through  the  floor  of  the  car  via  a  2  1/2-in.  pipe  up 
to  the  electric  heaters.  The  deflector  box  avoids  the  troubles  due  to 


10 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


clogged  screens,  while  the  effectiveness  of  the  ventilation  scheme  as  a 
whole  is  clear  from  the  fact  that  the  car  windows  will  not  collect  frost 
even  in  the  most  severe  weather. 

Reducing  Platform  Wear  by  Using  Reinforcing  Strips. — The  Virginia 
Railway  &  Power  Company,  Richmond,  Va.,  covers  all  of  its  car  platforms 


SECTION  OF  STFllP 

Platform  floor  stripping  over  steel  plate  at  step,  Richmond. 

with  maple  strips  similar  to  those  used  inside  the  cars.  To  avoid  replacing 
the  entire  platform  when  the  flooring  at  the  step  is  worn  out,  the  mechan- 
ical department  now  inserts  an  iron  strip  flush  with  the  pine  underflooring 
and  extending  the  entire  width  of  the  platform  at  the  steps,  as  illustrated. 
This  reinforcing  strip  is  1/8  in.  thick  and  1  in.  wide.  When  the  maple 
strips  at  the  step  are  worn  down,  new  ones  are  inserted  for  the  necessary 
length,  but  no  change  whatever  is  made  in  the  pine  flooring  below  because 
of  the  protection  afforded  by  the  metal. 


SECTION,   MAPLE  FLOOR  STRIP 


Trap-door  lift,  Richmond. 

An  Unusual  Trap-door  Lift. — Many  motor  trap  doors  are  raised  either 
by  means  of  a  ring  fastened  to  the  floor  in  a  depression  made  by  cutting 
away  a  portion  of  the  floor  strips  or  by  placing  the  top  of  a  lift  yoke 
between  the  adjacent  strips,  which  have  been  beveled  for  the  hand. 


NON-ELECTRICAL  PARTS  OF  THE  CARBODY  11 

Both  of  these  methods  are  open  to  the  objection  that  people  with  high- 
heeled  shoes,  particularly  women,  may  trip  in  these  holes,  and  thus  find 
an  excuse  for  injury  claims.  This  possibility  is  avoided  by  the  design  of 
trap-door  lift  devised  by  the  mechanical  department  of  the  Virginia 
Railway  &  Power  Company.  This  method  is  shown  in  the  lower  drawing 
on  page  10.  Enough  of  one  strip  is  cut  away  over  each  trap  door  for  the 
insertion  of  a  piece  of  cast  iron  4  9/16  in.  long.  This  casting  is  exactly  as 
wide  as  the  strip  and  flush  with  the  rest  of  the  floor.  It  is  made  as  an 
inverted  "U."  The  rest  of  the  lift  consists  of  3/8-in.  wrought-iron  rods 
threaded  into  the  top  piece  as  shown.  The  usual  space  between  the  strips 
is  ample  for  the  insertion  of  the  fingers  without  requiring  any  depressions 
in  the  floor. 

Steel  Car  Panels  over  Wood. — Owing  to  the  climatic  conditions  in 
Richmond,  Va.,  the  wooden  panels  on  the  cars  are  frequently  cracked. 
Instead  of  replacing  them  with  new  wood  panels  the  Virginia  Railway  & 
Power  Company  covers  the  old  panels  with  steel  of  No.  18  gage.  These 
steel  sheets  are  screwed  on  under  the  old  side  moldings  and  when  painted 
they  cannot  be  distinguished  from  wood.  In  fact,  there  are  many  cars 
which  have  wood  panels  on  one  side  and  steel-covered  panels  on  the  other. 
When  steel  panels  are  applied,  they  are  continued  past  the  belt  rail 
without  a  break  and  this  prevents  the  rotting  which  occurs  when  water 
from  the  belt  rail  gets  inside  the  car  between  the  joints  of  the  wooden 
half-panels.  The  plates  are  shaped  in  the  company's  shops  and  are 
applied  whenever  it  is  found  that  a  large  number  of  the  wooden  panels 
are  split. 

Home-made  Safety  Tread. — The  mechanical  department  of  the  Cedar 
Rapids  &  Marion  City  Railway  Company,  Cedar  Rapids,  la.,  has  devised 


RISER  TO    PLATFORM 

LEAD   BEND  ASPHALTUM  METAL   LATH 

X \  ....y. 


WOODEN   TREAD  OF   OLD   STEP 


Home-made  safety  tread  for  surface  car  steps,  Cedar  Rapids. 

a  very  serviceable  yet  economical  tread  consisting  of  a  section  of  metal 
lath  tacked  to  the  old  wooden  tread  over  which  is  spread  a  mixture  of 
asphaltum  saturated  with  sand.  The  asphaltum  wearing  surface  is 
approximately  1/2  in.  thick  and  the  metal  lath  acts  as  a  bond  between  it 
and  the  1  1/4-in.  oak  tread.  In  order  to  provide  for  equal  wear  and  also 
to  protect  the  edge  of  the  tread  against  excessive  rate  of  wear,  a  3/16- 


12 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


iron  strap  is  screwed  to  the  edge  of  the  wooden  tread.  This  strap  pro- 
jects about  1/4  in.  above  the  top  of  the  wooden  tread  and  the  edge  is  then 
brought  to  the  same  level  as  the  asphaltum  by  pouring  a  lead  bead 
in  a  mold  which  brings  the  edge  of  the  tread  1/4  in.  above  the  iron 
strap.  The  bead  is  held  firmly  in  place  by  extending  it  downward  in 
back  of  the,  strap,  thus  giving  it  a  bond  to  the  metal  lath.  The  wearing 
qualities  of  the  lead  and  the  asphaltum  mixture  are  about  the  same  so 
that  step  wear  will  be  uniform  over  the  entire  surface.  This  lead  bead 
and  iron  strap  are  applied  before  the  asphaltum  mixture.  A  section  of 
this  tread  is  shown  in  the  illustration. 

Babbit  Bearing  for  Door  Rollers. — Most  door  rollers  are  equipped 
with  brass  bushings  A,  as  shown  in  Fig.  1,  which  can  be  renewed  when 


O         O 


o 


O 


o 


o 


FIGS.   1  and  2. — Replacing  the  brass  bushings  of  door  rollers  with 
babbitt  bearings. 

worn  out.  The  stud  B  on  the  casting  is  made  with  a  flat  place,  so  that 
the  bushing  will  not  turn.  A*ny  lost  motion  on  the  stud  or  the  bushing, 
or  when  the  door  rides  on  the  bottom,  causes  a  great  deal  of  trouble. 

To  remedy  this,  first  remove  the  bushings,  then  tin  the  cast-iron  stud 
to  permit  the  melted  babbitt  to  adhere  to  it.  If  the  door  rides  on  the 
bottom  and  is  to  be  lifted  up  draw  the  wheel  down  off  center  as  much  as 
the  door  is  to  be  lifted  (see  illustration  "C")- 

Oil  the  bearings  of  the  wheel  so  that  the  melted  babbitt  will  not  stick. 
Then  pour  in  enough  babbitt  to  make  it  flush  with  the  wheel.  The  sur- 
plus babbitt  can  then  be  chipped  off  and  the  washer  and  cotter  pin  re- 
placed. A  repair  shop  man,  who  is  connected  with  a  medium-size 
electric  railway,  says  that  he  has  tried  this  method  and  by  its  use  a  pair 
of  bearings  can  be  repaired  in  a  very  short  time,  and  when  once  repaired 
in  this  way  they  will  give  much  better  service  than  with  brass  bushings. 

Preventing  Accidents  from  Opening  Gates. — At  one  time,  the  Virginia 
Railway  &  Power  Company,  Richmond,  Va.,  was  troubled  by  platform 


NON-ELECTRICAL  PARTS  OF  THE  CARBODY 


13 


accidents  due  to  passengers  falling  off  the  car  by  leaning  against  and 
thereby  opening  the  old-style  folding  gates.  These  accidents  were  suc- 
cessfully eliminated  by  devising  a  gravity  gate  latch  as  shown  in  the 
accompanying  drawing.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  gate  is  held  by  a 
pin  which  is  prevented  from  rising  out  of  the  bracket  casting  by  the 
swinging  lock  catch  above.  This  lock  catch  is  so  placed  that  it  cannot 
be  swung  out  of  position  by  passengers  leaning  against  the  gates  so  that 
there  is  no  possibility  for  the  holding  pin  to  be  shaken  out  of  the  bracket. 


SHOULDER  BOLT 


Platform  gate  for  preventing  accidents,  Richmond. 

An  Insulated  Roof  for  Electric  Locomotives. — The  Fort  Dodge,  Des 
Moines  &  Southern  Railroad,  Boone,  la.,  which  is  now  being  operated  at 
1200  volts  d.c.,  has  insulated  the  entire  roof  of  each  engine  with  wooden 
slats.  The  nailing  strips,  3-in.  X6-in.  yellow  pine,  are  cut  to  fit  the  con- 
tour of  the  roof  and  bolted  to  it.  The  slats  are  l-in.X2  1/2-in.  yellow 
pine  applied  so  as  to  leave  a  2-in.  space  between  them.  The  addition  of 
this  protective  feature  is  simple  and  inexpensive  and  adds  greatly  to  the 
safety  of  trainmen,  who  in  emergencies  may  have  to  mount  the  engine 
roof. 

Protecting  Rattan  Seats. — The  Richmond  Railway  &  Power  Company, 
Richmond,  Va.,  finding  that  its  passengers  have  the  usual  tendency  to 


14 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


place  their  feet  on  the  corner  rattan  seats,  protects  the  latter  by  attaching 
along  the  edge  a  wooden  strip  1  1/2  in.  high  and  3/8  in.  thick. 

Protecting  Rubber  Seat  Buffers  on  Open  Cars. — The  proverb  "Out 
of  sight  out  of  mind"  has  been  made  to  apply  in  Hartford  to  the  preserva- 
tion of  car  equipment  by  concealing  the  rubber  buffers  in  the  seats  of 
open  cars  instead  of  following  the  usual  custom  of  attaching  them  to  the 
edge  of  the  seat  back,  where  they  are  sure  to  tempt  the  passenger  who 


Depressed  rubber  buffers  in  benches  of  open  cars,  Hartford. 

owns  a  pocket  knife.  As  shown  in  the  accompanying  cross-section,  the 
buffers  are  depressed  flush  with  the  bench,  the  shock  from  the  seat  backs 
being  transmitted  by  rounded  castings. 

Seating  and  Curtain  Practice  in  Brooklyn. — The  Brooklyn  Rapid 
Transit  System  does  all  building  and  repairing  of  rattan  seats  and  chairs 
at  its  East  New  York  shops  and  all  curtain  and  miscellaneous  leather 
work  at  the  Thirty-ninth  Street  shops  in  conformity  with  its  policy  to 
specialize  the  work  of  the  mechanical  department  as  much  as  practicable. 

Long  experience  with  the  troubles  incident  to  rattan  seats  has  led  to 
several  improvements  in  construction  which  may  be  of  interest  to  other 
electric  railways  which  have  not  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  expert  labor  for 
this  class  of  maintenance. 


NON-ELECTRICAL  PARTS  OF  THE  CARBODY 


15 


The  rattan  seats,  as  originally  purchased,  were  made  very  much  alike 
except  that  in  one  form  the  strips  of  flat  spring  steel  to  which  the  spiral 
springs  were  attached  were  carried  over  the  top  of  the  wooden  frame  and 
nailed  thereto;  in  the  other  form  the  steel  strips  terminated  in  a  groove 
1/2  in.  deep  and  1/4  in.  from  the  outside  of  the  frame,  the  nails  being 
tacked  through  the  side  of  the  frame.  In  the  first  construction  the  nails 


ANGLE  IRONS 


Press  for  stretching  rattan  over  seat  before  nailing,  Brooklyn. 

would  gradually  work  their  way  up  and  eventually  manifest  themselves 
by  penetrating  the  rattan  and  tearing  the  clothing  of  passengers.  The 
second  construction  gave  little  trouble  from  nails,  but  in  both  cases  the 
steel  strips  would  break  at  the  bends  and  their  sharp,  jagged  edges  would 
rip  the  rattan  and  cause  even  more  damage  than  the  nails.  The  seats,  as 
now  rebuilt,  give  absolutely  no  trouble  from  either  of  these  sources. 


16 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


Furthermore,  the  new  construction  makes  it  possible  to  avoid  much  waste 
in  spring  steel  because  it  is  possible  to  use  shorter  lengths  and  these  are 
often  made  up  from  old  springs  which  formerly  were  discarded. 

As  shown  in  one  of  the  sketches,  the  strips  are  riveted  to  the  spiral 
springs  as  before,  but  they  are  carried  only  to  within  1/2  in.  to  1  in.  of  the 
side  frames.  The  edges  of  these  strips  are  bent  back  beforehand  by  a 
special  machine,  so  that  there  is  no  possibility  of  sharp  edges  cutting 
through  the  seating.  Over  each  spring  steel  strip  there  is  copper-riveted 
a  strip  of  canvas.  This  canvas  is  glued  to  the  framework  and  carried 
around  and  nailed  to  the  bottom  of  each  side  piece.  As  the  nails  are  in 

-m  the  bottom  of  the  frame  their  working 
out  can  do  no  damage.  After  these 
canvas  strips  have  been  installed  the 
entire  seat  area  is  covered  with  a  single 
piece  of  glued  canvas  which  is  tucked 
over  and  nailed  to  the  bottom  of  the 
end-frame  pieces.  This  large  canvas 
cannot  be  tucked  over  the  side  frames 
because  of  the  limited  clearance  afforded 
by  the  seat  rails.  Finally,  as  a  cushion 
for  the  rattan,  a  piece  of  cow-hair  felt, 
1/2  in.  thick,  is  glued  to  the  large  piece 
of  canvas.  In  order  to  economize  ma- 
terial the  cow  hair  is  sometimes  glued  on 
in  two  or  three  pieces.  Where  one  piece  is  used  glued  retaining  strips  of 
canvas  are  nailed  on  at  the  ends  only,  but  otherwise  a  strip  of  canvas  is 
placed  over  each  joint  in  the  felt  and  the  ends  of  the  strip  are  tacked  to 
the  under  side  of  the  framing  to  prevent  the  shifting  of  the  felt. 

When  the  seat  is  ready  for  its  covering  of  rattan  it  is  placed  in  a  press 
which  is  supplied  with  a  bed  of  the  proper  size.  One  end  and  one  side 
piece  of  the  bed  frame  are  adjustable,  each  being  operated  by  means  of  a 
pair  of  screws,  as  shown  in  the  sketch  on  page  15.  The  seat  covered 
with  the  loose  rattan  is  placed  upside  down  in  the  bed.  Then  the  screws 
are  applied  while  the  seat  springs  are  compressed  from  above  by  a  hinged 
lever  which  presses  against  a  cross-bar  placed  over  the  seat  slats.  Thus 
the  entire  seat  is  under  compression  to  permit  the  rattan  to  be  properly 
tightened  for  nailing.  The  cow-hair  felt  used  for  the  backs  is  1/4  in.  thick. 
Curtains  are  repainted  at  definite  intervals,  even  if  in  good  condition 
otherwise.  Previously  it  was  the  custom  to  use  two  coats  to  secure  a 
glossy  finish,  but  it  has  been  found  possible  to  attain  the  same  results  with 
one  coat  by  adding  a  thinning  solution  of  Japan  drier.  The  freshly 
painted  curtains  are  hung  on  rollers  and  permitted  to  dry  for  ten  hours, 
although  they  are  fairly  dry  for  use  in  little  more  than  half  that  time. 


Rattan  seat  back,  Brooklyn. 


NON-ELECTRICAL  PARTS  OF  THE  CARBODY 


17 


A  very  important  feature  in  connection  with  the  operation  of  this 
department  is  the  scrap  collecting  and  handling  system.  The  inspection 
and  maintenance  depots  must  send  to  this  central  shop  all  discarded 
curtain  and  other  material  which  it  uses,  no  matter  in  what  condition 
such  articles  are.  In  this  way  it  is  possible  to  reclaim  many  springs,  rods, 
screws,  pieces  of  curtain  cloth,  etc.,  which  otherwise  would  go  to  the  scrap 
heap  as  waste. 

Easel  for  Curtain  Painting. — The  sign  painter  at  the  Anderson  shop 
of  the  Indiana  Union  Traction  Company  has  rigged  up  an  easel  which  has 
been  found  very  convenient  during  the  painting  of  the 
curtains  for  the  car  destination  signs.  An  illustration 
of  this  easel  with  a  curtain  on  it  is  shown.  The 
curtains  used  in  the  destination  sign  boxes  are  21  3/4 
in.  wide,  10  ft.  long  and  carry  the  names  of  eighteen 
towns  in  letters  41/2  in.  high,  spaced  according  to  the 
length  of  the  name.  The  easel  on  which  these  cur- 
tains are  painted  is  so  arranged  that  duplicate  cur- 
tains can  be  made  without  the  use  of  a  stencil  or  any 
lining. 

When  a  curtain  is  to  be  painted  the  top  of  the  cloth 
is  tacked  to  a  strip  of  wood  which  rides  on  the  front 
of  the  two  main  legs  of  the  easel.  The  curtain  is  sup- 
ported by  a  weight  carried  on  a  string  which  is  passed 
over  the  top  of  the  easel.  The  end  roll  of  cloth  is 
carried  in  two  supports  made  of  spring  steel  bent  into 
hook  shape  and  fastened  to  the  lower  cross  brace  of  the 
easel.  Just  above  this  cross  brace  is  a  sheet  of  glass 
about  30  in.  X  24  in.,  against  which  the  cloth  to  be 
painted  lies.  This  glass  forms  a  backing  for  the  cloth 
and  holds  it  in  smooth  shape  while  the  paint  is  be- 
ing applied. 

If  a  curtain  is  to  be  duplicated  one  of  the  type  desired  is  partly 
unrolled  and  so  placed  that  that  portion  of  the  lettering  to  be  copied  lies 
flat  against  the  front  of  the  glass.  The  rolls  of  the  cloth  are  supported 
behind  the  glass  in  suitable  hooks.  The  blank  cloth  then  is  hung  in  front 
of  the  glass  directly  over  the  pattern  curtain.  As  the  curtain  material 
is  translucent  the  letters  on  the  first  curtain  plainly  show  through  the 
blank  cloth  and  may  easily  be  copied  without  the  use  of  stencils. 

Richmond  Bell  and  Register  Fixture. — The  top  drawing  on  page  18 
shows  a  rather  interesting  cast-brass  bell  cord  and  register  rod  fixture 
installed  in  many  of  the  cars  operated  by  the  Virginia  Railway  &  Power 
Company,  Richmond,  Va.  This  arrangement  is  built  for  installation 
along  the  center  line  of  the  car  and  has  a  wide  opening  at  the  top  to 


Easel  for  painting 
sign  curtains. 


18 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


clear  the  lighting  fixtures.  The  most  interesting  points  about  this  bell 
and  register  fixture,  however,  are  the  bell-cord  hole  and  the  spacing 
between  the  cord  and  register  rod.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  hole  for 
the  bell  cord  is  beveled,  thereby  avoiding  the  creation  of  sharp  edges 


hV 

DRILLED  DETAIL  OF  CORE 


Register  rod  and  bell  cord  bracket,  Richmond. 

which  would  soon  cut  into  the  rope.  This  provision  of  a  space  of  1  1/2 
in.  between  the  bell-cord  and  register  rod  was  due  to  the  fact  that  when  a 
smaller  clearance  was  used,  the  conductors  could  not  operate  the  bell 
rope  without  bruising  their  knuckles  against  the  rod. 


HEX. BRASS  THREADED 
AS  SHOWN   AND   BORED   OUT 
FOR   SPRING 


Mechanism  for  ringing  up  two  registers  from  one  rod,  Richmond. 

Ringing  up  Two  Registers  from  One  Rod. — Owing  to  a  peculiar 
condition  in  connection  with  its  Lakeside  line,  the  Virginia  Railway  & 
Power  Company,  Richmond,  Va.,  is  obliged  to  use  two  distinct  fare 


NON-ELECTRICAL  PARTS  OF  THE  CARBODY 


19 


registers.  One  of  these  registers  records  all  fares  received  up  to  a  given 
point  after  which  the  conductor  rings  up  his  collections  on  the  other 
register.  As  it  was  desirable  to  operate  both  registers  from  a  single  center 
rod  and  to  have  both  machines  at  the  same  end,  the  mechanical  depart- 
ment devised  the  clutch  and  lever  arrangement  shown  in  the  lower  draw- 
ing on  page  18.  The  clutch  has  a  radial  lug  on  each  end  to  fit  into  a 
corresponding  slot  in  the  lever  casting  on  either  side.  By  pulling  down 
its  spring  latch,  the  clutch  can  be  pushed  along  the  rod  and  locked  into 
the  lever  connections  of  the  machine  which  is  to  register  the  fares. 

Conductor's  Transfer  Box. — The  average  conductor  finds  the  carrying 
of  three  or  four  transfer  pads  in  his  pockets  a  rather  irksome  task  and  is 


I IT j" 


Conductor's  transfer  box,  Richmond. 

likely  to  deposit  the  extra  pads  and  other  papers  in  some  place  like  the 
sand  box.  To  avoid  this,  the  Virginia  Railway  &  Power  Company, 
Richmond,  Va.,  has  installed  a  transfer  box  in  every  one  of  its  cars.  As 
shown  in  the  accompanying  drawing,  the  box  is  8  in.  X5  7/8  in.  X3  3/8  in. 
in  size.  It  is  made  of  7/16-in.  wood  to  match  the  inside  finish  of  the  car. 
The  door  is  made  self-closing  through  the  medium  of  a  coil  spring  of  No. 
16  steel  wire. 

Car  Wiring  Methods  in  Denver. — The  Denver  City  Tramway 
revised  its  car  wiring  methods  in  1911.  The  main  cable  is  now  being 
carried  above  the  car  floor  at  the  side  of  the  car  in  wood  boxing,  com- 
pounded on  the  inside,  and  cars  are  being  cleaned  by  compressed  air 
to  avoid  the  penetration  of  moisture.  All  cables  are  of  individual 
flame-proofed  wires  and  the  covering  on  the  entire  cable  is  also  flame- 
proofed.  Where  the  leads  to  motor  and  resistances  pass  under  the  car 
framing  they  are  supported  on  porcelain  or  composition  insulators  and 
the  bottom  of  the  car  framing  is  protected  by  sheet  iron. 


20  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

The  connection  board  under  the  car  is  provided  with  asbestos  wood 
facing  and  barriers  and  is  backed  by  sheet  metal.  The  rheostats  have 
sheet  metal  protection.  Light  and  heater  circuit  wiring  is  of  "  slow-burn- 
ing" wire  except  that  in  the  light  wiring  overhead  ordinary  rubber-cov- 
ered wire  is  used  with  a  special  grooved  hard-wood  molding  with  grooves 
spaced  so  as .  to  take  strap  hangers,  receptacles  and  molding  supporting 
screws,  the  molding  being  run  down  the  center  of  cars  arid  backed  by  the 
maple  ceiling  board.  There  are  no  wire  joints  in  this  molding.  The  light 
and  heater  circuit  fuses  are  mounted  on  asbestos  wood  panels  on  the  front 
platforms,  where,  owing  to  design  of  cars,  they  are  inaccessible  to  the 
general  public.  In  other  portions  of  car  wiring,  where  necessary,  flexible 
tubing  protection  is  used. 

Excluding  Drafts  from  Pay-within  Cars. — On  the  system  of  the 
United  Traction  Company,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  the  vestibule  doors  differ 
from  common  construction  in  several  interesting  points.  They  have  no 
rubber  buffers  but  fit  snugly  in  the  grooves  of  an  intermediate  post. 
This  method  insures  the  air-tight  joint  so  desirable  in  a  car  with  bulk- 
heads—an end  which  cannot  be  obtained  when  one  rubber  buffer  bears 
against  another.  Some  trouble  might  be  anticipated  from  the  pinching 
of  passengers  with  these  doors,  but  in  two  years'  operation  of  rebuilt  cars 
with  such  doors,  no  passengers  were  caught  in  this  manner.  Another 
feature  for  excluding  drafts  is  that  the  doors  close  7/8  in.  below  the 
vestibule  floor  instead  of  at  the  platform  level. 


Ill 


BRAKE  EQUIPMENTS  AND  BRAKE  RIGGING 

A  Simple  Improvement  in  Brake  Rigging  Pins.  —  The  tapering  of  the 
ends  of  brake  rigging  pins  has  been  found  by  the  Syracuse,  Lake  Shore  & 
Northern  Railway  and  allied  lines  to  result  in  a  considerable  saving  of 
time  in  assembling.  The  holes  in  both  jaws  and  brake  beams  are  lined 
with  hardened  tube  steel  bushings  and  make  a  close  fit  on  the  pins. 
Without  the  taper  it  requires  some  time  and  effort  to  get  the  holes  lined 
up  sufficiently  to  insert  the  pins.  With  the  tapered  end,  as  shown  in  the 
accompanying  cut,  the  pin  acts  as  a  drift  in  lining  up  the  bushings. 


— >j5/iot- 

T1~t 


r 


COTTER   PIN  HOLE 

Tapered  pin  for  brake  rigging,  Syracuse. 


Brake  Hangers  in  Richmond. — The  following  drawings  show  the 
details  of  the  brake  hanger  designed  by  the  mechanical  department  of 
the  Virginia  Railway  &  Power  Company,  Richmond,  Va.,  to  take  the 
place  of  various  hangers  originally  furnished  with  the  trucks.  The 
original  hangers  were  superseded  because  whenever  any  part,  such  as  the 
upper  casting,  lower  casting  or  hanger  links,  wore  out,  it  was  necessary  to 
scrap  the  entire  hanger.  In  this  new  hanger  a  case-hardened  pin,  made 
with  a  shoulder,  locks  rigidly  against  the  upper  castings  so  that  nothing 
can  wear  on  the  latter.  This  pin  is  locked  in  the  lower  casting  in  the 
same  way  so  that  the  lower  casting  is  also  saved  from  wear.  The  hanger 
links  between  the  two  castings  are  provided  with  case-hardened  bushings 
both  top  and  bottom  to  take  up  all  hanger  abrasion.  When  these  bush- 
ings are  worn  out,  nothing  more  than  a  hammer  is  necessary  to  knock 
out  the  old  bushings  and  press  in  a  new  one.  It  will  be  seen  that  only  the 
pins  and  bushings  of  this  brake  hanger  require  renewal,  so  that  the  most 
costly  parts  need  be  made  only  once. 

21 


22 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


§ 
I 


BRAKE  EQUIPMENTS  AND  BRAKE  RIGGING 


23 


A  Light-weight  Brake  Hanger. — A  saving  in  weight  of  brake  rigging 
of  nearly  50  Ib.  per  car  has  resulted  from  the  adoption  by  the  New  York 
State  Railways,  Rochester  Lines,  of  the  form  of  hanger  shown  in  the  ac- 
companying figure,  which  was  designed  by  G.  M.  Cameron,  master 
mechanic.  On  the  basis  of  a  cost  of  5  cents  a  year  for  hauling  a  pound  of 
car  weight,  this  reduction  saves  $2.50  annually  per  car.  The  hanger  is 
so  proportioned  as  to  utilize  the  steel  to  the  best  advantage.  All  bearings 


\ 

V_                                                                ^ 

I 

I 

\ 

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1 

i 

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SV| 



(ft 

V^} 

(y 

^ 

(d 

V) 

Light-weight  brake  hanger,  Rochester. 

are  easily  replaceable  hardened-steel  bushings,  so  that,  except  for  break- 
age, the  life  of  the  hanger  is  unlimited. 

Drilling  Jig  for  Brake  Hangers. — The  accompanying  two  cuts  show 
the  details  and  assembly  of  a  drilling  jig  which  was  developed  by  the 
Toronto  Street  Railway  to  insure  the  accurate  spacing  of  the  holes  in 
the  brake  hangers  of  different  types  of  trucks. 


Details  and  assembly  of  device  for  accurate  drilling  of  brake-hanger  holes, 

Toronto. 

Improved  Truck  Brake  Rigging. — The  shop  forces  of  the  Chicago, 
South  Bend  &  Northern  Indiana  Railway,  South  Bend,  Ind.,  rebuilt  in 
1910  the  brake  rigging  on  eight  double-truck  cars  equipped  with  St. 
Louis  No.  23-A,  M.C.B.  type  trucks  and  introduced  several  features 
which  are  said  to  improve  the  braking  action  and  simplify  maintenance 
and  adjustment  of  "the  parts.  The  improved  rigging  does  away  with 
radius  bars,  offset  brake  levers  and  heads  and  is  so  designed  that  the 
slack  can  be  taken  up  on  the  road  without  the  use  of  any  tools. 


24 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


The  truck  brake  rod  extends  under  the  center  of  the  car  body  and  is 
attached  by  a  clevis  and  pin  to  the  center  of  a  brake  beam  connecting  the 
top  ends  of  the  two  live  levers.  This  brake  beam  is  a  1-in.  X4-in.  flat 
bar  reduced  at  the  ends  to  1  1/4  in.  in  diameter.  A  release  spring  with 
one  end  fastened  to  the  truck  transom  is  clamped  to  the  brake  rod.  The 
live  levers  are  made  of  7/8-in.  X3-in.  bars  28  in.  long  and  the  bottom 
truck  connections  are  made  of  two  bars  2  in.  X 5/8  in.,  bolted  together 


Improved  brake  rigging  for  M.  C.  B.  trucks,  South  Bend. 

with  washers  15/16  in.  thick  inserted  between  the  bars.  Special  cast-iron 
brackets  which  are  bolted  to  the  truck  transoms  support  the  brake 
hangers  and  serve  as  guides  for  the  live  and  dead  levers  to  prevent  the 
side  displacement  of  the  levers  when  the  truck  is  on  a  curve.  A  single 
pin  extends  through  the  brake  head  to  connect  the  links,  levers  and  heads. 
A  slack  fork  is  bolted  to  the  top  of  each  bracket  which  guides  the  dead 
lever.  The  slack  forks  are  made  of  forged  metal  and  are  provided  with 
16  pairs  of  staggered  holes.  A  pin  is  placed  through  one  pair  of  these 
holes  to  support  the  upper  end  of  the  dead  lever,  and  by  moving  this  pin 


BRAKE  EQUIPMENTS  AND  BRAKE  RIGGING 


25 


it  is  possible  to  adjust  the  brakes.  This  is  done  by  shoving  the  dead 
lever  away  from  the  transom  until  the  shoes  are  close  to  the  wheels  and 
then  placing  the  pin  through  the  nearest  holes.  These  slack  forks  are 
placed  only  on  the  dead-lever  side  of  the  truck.  The  cast-iron  brackets 
which  carry  the  brake  hangers  and  serve  as  guides  for  the  top  ends  of  the 
live  levers  are  interchangeable. 

Some  of  the  advantages  which  were  realized  after  this  brake  rigging 
was  installed  were  the  following:     Ease  of  adjustment,  it  being  possible  to 


TOP  HOLE   IN   LEVER  N0.1 

MIDDLE  HOLE  IN   LEVER  NO. 2 
BOTTOM   HOLE    IN   LEVER  NO. 3 


Using  jigs  to  set  levers  for  10-in.  brake  cylinder,  and  lever  hole  numbering, 

Philadelphia. 

take  up  the  wear  on  the  brake  shoes  on  the  street  without  the  use  of  tools; 
simplicity  of  construction,  all  parts  being  duplicates  for  opposite  sides  of 
trucks  and  practically  all  parts  being  standard  for  all  four  corners  of 
trucks;  elimination  of  radius  bars,  offset  shoe  heads  and  levers;  simple 
and  direct  release  mechanism.  A  rigging  similar  in  principle  has  been 
applied  to  Brill  No.  27-E  and  the  same  adjustments  to  McGuire  No.  39 
trucks. 


Using  jigs  to  set  cylinder  levers  for  Brill  27-G,  Curtis  D  2  and  maximum  trac- 
tion, Brill  maximum  traction  and  Curtis  C.  I.  trucks,  Philadelphia. 

Instruction  Prints  and  Jigs  for  Gaging  Brake  Rigging. — The  tendency 
to  introduce  exact  methods  in  shop  work  is  admirably  illustrated  by  the 
brake  rigging  adjustment  practice  of  the  Philadelphia  Rapid  Transit 
Company.  It  is  well  known  that  poor  braking  and  unequal  brakeshoe 
wear  are  due  partly  to  errors  in  leverage  dimensions  and  to  inaccurate 
adjustments  by  the  shop  men.  To  eliminate  trouble  from  both  of  these 
causes  the  Philadelphia  company  developed  during  1909  a  series  of 


26 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


accurately  calculated  jigs  for  setting  the  cylinder  levers  of  its  numerous 
types  of  brake  rigging.  All  that  the  brake  inspector  is  required  to  do  is 
to  see  that  the  distances  between  certain  points  on  these  levers  are  to 
gage  as  shown  by  the  jigs.  These  gaging  points  are  indicated  on  blue- 
prints of  the  style  reproduced  in  the  engravings  on  page  25.  The 
prints  are  6  in.  X4  in.  in  size  and  are  bound  for  handy  pocket  use  with 
other  drawings  of  brake  rigging  parts  such  as  dead  and  live  levers,  cylinder 
tie  rods  and  push  rods,  brake  beams,  etc.  One  of  the  latter  prints  shows 
the  standard  method  of  numbering  holes  in  all  levers. 

12"»  1   LB.ON  HANDLE 


XTRA  CHAIN  AND  ROD    /     c 

88.58LE 

»8O  ARRANGED    " 

-   TENSION  UNL 
/  OR  ROD  BREA 


/  88.58LB. 

1 80  ARRANGED  AS  NOT  TO  BE  IN     3  <% 
LESS  OTHER  CHAIN    *' 


WEIGHT  EQUIPPED  18,700  LB 
LBS.  REQUIRED  ON  BRAKE 
HANDLE  TO  GIVE  SHOE 
PRESSURE  OF  90%  OF  TOTAL 
WEIGHT  OF  CAR    100*6. 


FORWARD   END 
LEVERAGE   RATIO  =  78.98 


REAR   END 
LEVERAGE   RATIO=98.68 


TOTAL  LEVERAGE  RATIO  =  167.56 

Brake  leverage  diagram,  single  truck-cars,  Brooklyn. 


TABLE  OF  STRESSES 
Figured  at  100  Ib.  on  brake  handle 


Rods  and  Levers 


Mark 

Size 

Tensile  stress 
Ib.  per  sq.  in. 

No. 

Size 

Shearing 
stress  Ib. 
per  sq.  in. 

a 

1"X5" 

1 

\"  eye  belt 

4,890 

£"X6"  reinforce 

15,550  Ib. 

1"X5" 

6 

|"X  6"  reinforce 

14,300  Ib. 

2 

f" 

3,129 

c 

l"X2f" 

16,580  Ib. 

3 

11" 

8,912 

d 

f"X2|" 

10,800  Ib. 

4 

It" 

7,946 

e 

t"X2|" 

9,628  Ib. 

5 

£"X2"key 

4,670 

f 

f  "  rod 

3,129ft). 

g 

f  "  rod  1"  T-bckle 

8,491  Ib. 

h 

f  "  chain 

Total  stress  960  Ib. 

Pins  (single  shear) 


Brake  Leverage  Diagrams  at  Brooklyn. — On  the  Brooklyn  Rapid 
Transit  System  brake  leverage  diagrams  and  tables  of  stresses  in  rods, 
levers  and  pins  have  been  calculated  and  recorded  in  blueprint  form  for  all 
classes  of  cars.  The  six  accompanying  drawings  show  the  company's 


BRAKE  EQUIPMENTS  AND  BRAKE  RIGGING 


27 


fy      29. 7B,         V      Jh        . 


FORWARD  TRUCK 
LEVERAGE    RATIO 
FORWARD   TRUCK=1:287.5 


EIGHT  EQUIPPED    LB.      35200. 

REQUIRED  ON  BRAKE 
HANDLE  TO  GIVE  SHOE  PRESSURE 
OF  W%  OF  .TOTAL  WEIGHT  OF  CAR 
59.1. 


AVERAGE   RATIO 
REAR  TRUCK  =  1:247.9 


TOTAL  LEVERAGE  RATIO  =  1 :  535.4 

Brake  leverage  diagram  045  maximum  traction  truck, 
Brooklyn. 


TABLE  OF  STRESSES 
Figured  at  59.1  Ib.  on  brake  handle 


Rods  and  Levers 

Pins 

Mark 

Tensile  stress  Ib. 
per  sq.  in. 

No. 

Shearing  stress  Ib. 
per  sq.  in. 

A 

21,790 

1 

4,562 

B 

17,200 

2 

13,740 

C 

17,000 

3 

11,170 

D 

14,510 

4 

3,110 

Ex  —fulcrum  beam 

15,860 

5 

3,758 

F 

20,035 

6 

15,180 

G 

13,830 

7 

838 

H 

4,614 

8 

4,190 

jXX-f"  chain 

6,654 

9 

3,352 

28 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


I1LB. 


WEIGHT  LB. REQUIRED  ON  BRAKE 

X \    EQUIPPED,  HANDLE  TO  GIVE  SHOE      , 

'YzSBsl           LB"  PRESSURE  OF  90$  OF        I  ".43 

28070  TOTAL  WEIGHT  df  CAR. 

TO  61.5  TO   77<E 

FORWARD  TRUCK.          FOR^^ENT         ™  ™™™ 
LEVERAGE   RATIO  CARR 


CARS 


REAR    TRUCK. 
rwn   L/irrBncmi  CARS 

CARS  LEVERAGE  RATIO 

FORWARD  TRUCK=  179. 12.  REAR  TRUCK=158.6»  . 

TOTAL  LEVERAGE  RATIO  —  1:337.72 

Brake  leverage  diagram,  Brill  maximum  traction  truck,  Brooklyn. 


TABLE  OF  STRESSES 
Figured  for  75  Ib.  pull  on  brake  handle 


Rods  and  Levers 


Mark 

Tensile  stress  Ib. 
per  sq.  in. 

No. 

Shearing  stress  Ib. 
per  sq.  in. 

A 

44,534 

1 

1,272 

B 

21,144 

2 

6,361 

C 

38,350 

3 

5,089 

D 

8,167 

4 

3,463 

E 

14,266 

5 

15,212 

F 

3,896 

6 

6,604 

G 

21,102 

H 

5,052 

J 

5,052 

K 

3,600 

Pins 


BRAKE  EQUIPMENTS  AND  BRAKE  RIGGING 


29 


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ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


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32 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


practice  in  1913  for  as  many  classes  of  cars  equipped  with  air  and  geared 
hand  brakes. 

Brake  Leverage  Diagrams  at  Hartford. — The  brake  leverage  diagrams 
which  are  supplied  to  the  men  at  the  Hartford  shops  of  the  Connecticut 
Company  are  supplemented  by  braking  study  sheets  of  the  type  shown. 


Brake  leverage  diagram  for  cars  with  cast-iron  wheels,  Hartford. 

These  offer  a  convenient  means  to  determine  accurately  the  best  lever- 
age arrangements  and  choice  of  air-brake  cylinder  sizes  for  given  air 
pressures.  It  will  be  observed  that  this  sheet  includes  the  area  of  7-in., 
8-in.  and  10-in.  cylinders,  which  are  the  present  standard  sizes  on  this 
system.  The  dimensions  of  the  auxiliary  reservoirs  required  in  each 
case  are  also  given. 


YPE  CAR                    D.T.CLOSED 

YPE  TRUCK             TAYLOR  L-B 

YPE    MOTORS          WEST   101 

EIGHT  OF  CAR  BODY   EQUIP 

0-20,0  73  LB. 

EIGHT  OF  TWO  TRUCKS 

15,000  LB. 

EIGHT  OF  4   MOTORS 

10,920  LB. 

OTAL    %            OF  BRAKING  E 

ORT    100 

Brake  leverage  diagram  for  cars  with  steel  wheels,  Hartford. 

The  utility  of  these  braking  sheets  is  readily  apparent  in  those  instances 
when  the  motorman  turns  in  a  car  for  poor  braking.  Leverage  measure- 
ments are  made,  the  air  pressure  is  determined  and  the  dimensions  of  the 
cylinder  are  taken.  From  his  instruction  sheet  covering  the  car  under 
examination  the  shop  superintendent  can  soon  determine  the  braking 
pressure  and  leverage  distances  required  to  give  the  proper  braking 


BRAKE  EQUIPMENTS  AND  BRAKE  RIGGING 

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34 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


effort  for  the  service.  A  braking  effort  of  100  per  cent,  is  held  to  be  per- 
missible for  steel  wheels,  but  no  more  than  90  per  cent,  is  used  for  cast- 
iron  wheels  in  order  to  limit  flat  spots. 

Rusting  of  Air-hose  Nipples. — Previous  to  1911,  the  Brooklyn  Rapid 
Transit  System  experienced  much  trouble  from  the  rusting  of  air-hose 
nipples  at  the  entering  ends.  Formerly,  these  nipples  were  pushed  into 
the  pipes  by  hand,  with  the  frequent  consequence  that  the  hose  was 
injured  even  before  it  was  placed  in  service.  The  oxidation  of  the  hose 
also  caused  the  cutting  of  the  rubber  by  flakes  of  rust  and  by  the  jagged 
edges  of  the  nipple.  Sometimes  the  nipple  would  drop  out  on  account  of 
the  reduction  in  diameter  due  to  rusting.  The  company  has  succeeded 
in  minimizing  these  undesirable  conditions  by  inserting  the  nipples 


Preventing  rusting  of  air-hose  nipples  by  inserting  them  pneumatically, 

Brooklyn. 


pneumatically  and  by  providing  the  entering  end  of  the  nipple  with  a 
brass  ferrule.  The  device  for  installing  the  nipples  is  shown  in  an  accom- 
'panying  sketch.  The  power  is  furnished  by  means  of  a  home-made 
cylinder  composed  of  a  piece  of  6-in.  pipe,  which  was  bored  and  packed 
like  a  regular  brake  cylinder.  The  piece  of  hose  into  which  the  nipple  is 
to  be  inserted  is  placed  in  a  grooved  block  in  line  with  the  piston  of  the 
cylinder.  The  hose  is  clamped  tightly  by  pressing  upon  it  an  upper 
grooved  block  which  is  hinged  to  the  lower  one  and  operated  by  means  of 
a  pedal.  In  addition  to  holding  the  hose  in  this  manner,  it  is  prevented 
from  slipping  by  facing  the  grooves  with  rough  pieces  of  old  hose  lining. 
When  using  this  apparatus  the  operator  lines  up  the  hose  with  the  ferruled 
nipple  which  is  attached  to  the  cylinder  piston,  presses  the  pedal  to  clamp 
the  hose  in  the  aperture  formed  by  the  blocks  and  then  admits  air  to  the 
cylinder  to  operate  the  piston.  This  device  enables  a  man  to  insert  150 
non-rusting  nipples  a  day,  or  about  three  times  the  speed  which  was 
possible  by  hand. 


BRAKE  EQUIPMENTS  AND  BRAKE  RIGGING 


35 


Tightening  Compressor  Motor  Bearings  (By  George  M.  Coleman).— 
On  the  D-2  Westinghouse  compressor  motors  the  set  screws  "A"  which 
hold  the  bearing  in  place  become  loose,  thus  giving  the  bearing  a  chance 
to  vibrate.  In  time  this  vibration  will  cause  much  noise  and  trouble. 
These  set  screws  are  1/2  in.  in  diameter  by  2  in.  long.  Only  half  of  the 
hole  in  the  motor  frame  is  tapped  out.  The  upper  half  is  drilled  out 


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5/8  in.  When  the  bearings  need  tightening  tap  the  upper  half  for  a 
3/4-in.  screw.  Cut  the  original  set  screw  in  two  and  slot  the  top,  as  shown 
in  the  sketch.  A  3/4-in.  screw  with  a  small  projection  at  one  end  is  then 
made.  Put  the  1/2-in.  set  screw  into  place  and  then  screw  the  3/4-in. 
screw  tightly  against  it.  This  will  make  a  perfectly  secure  construction. 
Rebushing  Air-compressor  Cylinders  at  Richmond. — The  accompany- 
ing drawing  shows  a  simple  tool  holder  for  boring  out  air-compressor  cylin- 


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BEFORE  BORING  CYLINDER 


MACHINE  STEEL 

Tool  holder  for  boring  air-compressor  cylinders,  Richmond. 

ders  on  the  axle  lathe,  as  developed  at  the  Richmond  shops  of  the  Vir- 
ginia Railway  &  Power  Company.  This  tool  holder  fits  in  the  spindle 
of  the  lathe  with  a  5/8-in.  square  tool  held  in  the  end  with  a  set  screwr. 
To  rebore  and  bush  the  air-compressor  cylinders  the  following  process 
is  carried  out: 

Strip  the  compressor  of  everything  except  the  cylinders  and  frame, 
remove  the  tool  holder  and  the  upper  carriage  from  the  lathe,  place  the 


36 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


special  tool  holder  in  the  spindle  of  the  lathe  with  the  steel  rings  marked 
A  over  the  holder.  Then  place  the  cylinders  on  the  lathe  carriage  upside 
down  with  the  bore  of  cylinder  in  line  with  the  lathe  spindle  and  run  the 
carriage  forward  until  the  bore  of  either  cylinder  fits  over  the  steel  rings 
A.  Now  shim  up  between  the  compressor  frame  and  the  carriage  of  the 
lathe,  then  bolt  down.  The  cylinder  should  now  be  in  perfect  line  with 
the  lathe  spindle.  Run  the  carriage  back  and  remove  the  steel  rings 
A  from  the  tool  holder. 

All  bushings  are  turned  to  a  standard  size  and  cut  3/8  in.  shorter  than 
the  air-compressor  cylinders  to  allow  a  shoulder  in  the  back  end  for  the 
bushing  to  fit  against.  The  bushings  are  pulled  in  the  cylinder  while 
chucked  in  the  lathe  with  a  bolt  and  clamp.  Should  the  piston  fit  too 
tightly  in  the  bushing  it  is  skimmed  out  while  the  cylinder  remains 
chucked  in  the  lathe.  This  method  of  boring  and  rebushing  air  com- 
pressors gives  a  perfect  job,  besides  permitting  the  work  to  be  done  in 
one-third  of  the  time  which  was  formerly  required. 


Adjusting  attachment  for  Westinghouse  electric  pump  governor. 

Adjusting  Westinghouse  Electric  Pump  Governor  (By  Geo.  H. 
Coleman). — When  the  adjusting  attachment  is  not  used  with  the  West- 
inghouse electric  pump  governor,  type  G-l-A,  it  is  regulated  with 
difficulty.  Those  using  this  type  have  found  that  when  the  governor 
is  set  to  cut  out  at  90  Ib.  it  will  not  cut  in  again  until  the  air  pressure  has 
been  reduced  to  about  68  Ib.,  making  a  variation  of  22  Ib.  When  the  air 
is  thus  reduced  the  brakes  give  poor  service.  On  the  magnetic  type  the 
piston  is  held  by  the  magnetic  coil  and  spring.  Consequently,  when  the 
pressure  against  the  piston  is  sufficient  to  overcome  the  magnet  and  spring 
the  armature  begins  to  move  away  from  the  magnet.  As  the  power  of 
the  magnet  decreases  faster  than  the  tension  of  the  spring  increases,  the 
rate  of  movement  of  the  piston  and  armature  increases  more  and  more 
rapidly  until  the  current  is  broken  at  the  contacts.  Then  the  electro- 
magnet loses  all  its  power,  and  the  entire  load  is  thrown  upon  the  spring. 
As  a  result  the  armature  and  circuit  closer  are  forced  away  from  the 
magnet  and  contacts  with  a  quick  movement. 

To  correct  this  fault  use  a  piece  of  cardboard  about  3  in.  in  diameter, 
with  a  hole  cut  in  the  center  large  enough  to  admit  the  shaft.  Cut  the 


BRAKE  EQUIPMENTS  AND  BRAKE  RIGGING  37 

cardboard  as  shown  in  illustration,  so  that  when  the  armature  and  circuit 
closer  are  released  from  the  magnet  it  can  easily  be  placed  at  "B"  without 
taking  the  governor  apart.  Put  a  little  shellac  on  the  cardboard  and  it 
will  hold  firmly  to  the  armature.  This  will  make  a  magnetic  gap  the  same 
width  as  the  thickness  of  the  cardboard,  so  that  the  variation  will  be 
between  10-lb.  and  15-lb.  air  pressure. 

Clasp  Brake  Rigging  on  New  York,  Westchester  &  Boston  Railway.— 
Each  of  the  motor  trucks  on  cars  of  the  New  York,  Westchester  &  Boston 
Railway,  New  York,  is  fitted  with  eight  brakeshoes,  two  shoes  being 
applied  to  each  wheel.  The  purpose  of  this  clasp  brake  design  is  to 
reduce  the  pressure  per  brakeshoe  to  reasonable  limits  when  an  emer- 
gency application  of  the  air  brake  is  made.  It  also  minimizes  the 
heating  effect  on  the  brakeshoes,  as  the  regular  schedule  in  which 
these  cars  are  used  involves  frequent  station  stops  from  high  speeds. 
A  short  brake  rod  with  a  clevis  and  roller  connects  the  cylinder  lever 
to  a  radius  bar.  The  latter  is  supported  at  each  end  by  rocking  levers 
which  tend  to  move  by  gravity  into  a  position  to  release  the  brakeshoes 
when  the  pull  from  the  air  brake  cylinder  is  released.  From  each  end  of 
the  radius  bar  a  rod  extends  toward  the  transoms  and  is  attached  in  the 
center  of  a  short  horizontal  floating  lever.  The  inner  end  of  this  lever  is 
fastened  to  the  top  of  a  live  brake  lever,  carrying  a  shoe  bearing  on  the 
inside  of  one  wheel.  A  pair  of  rods  straddling  the  wheel  connect  the 
bottom  of  this  live  lever  to  the  bottom  of  the  dead  lever  which  is  hung 
from  the  truck  end  frame.  Means  are  provided  for  adjusting  the  length 
of  these  bottom  connections  as  the  shoes  and  wheels  wear.  The  outer 
end  of  the  horizontal  floating  lever  is  connected  by  a  rod  to  the  end  of  a 
centrally-pivoted  lever  of  the  same  length  on  the  other  side  of  the 
bolster.  The  inner  end  of  this  pivoted  lever  is  fastened  to  the  live  brake 
lever  of  the  other  wheel.  The  arrangement  of  levers  on  each  side  of  the 
truck  is  the  same,  but  the  two  sides  operate  independently  of  each  other 
except  for  the  single  connection  through  the  radius  bar.  The  trailer 
truck  brakes  are  of  the  inside-hung  type  with  a  top  brake  beam  con- 
necting the  two  live  levers.  The  braking  pressure  applied  on  the  trailer 
truck  wheels  being  much  less  than  that  applied  on  the  motor  truck  wheels 
makes  four  brakeshoes  sufficient. 


IV 


TRUCKS,  WHEELS  AND  AXLES 

New  Design  of  Swing  Link. — The  frequency  of  road  troubles  caused 
by  broken  swing  links  has  been  greatly  reduced  since  the  Decatur  shop 
forces  of  the  Illinois  Traction  System  designed  the  links  with  a  new  bottom 
fastening  and  placed  these  links  on  all  trucks  as  they  were  brought  into 
the  shops  for  general  repairs.  An  accompanying  illustration  shows  the 
design  of  the  new  swing  link.  The  chief  feature  of  interest  in  this  link 


Detail  of  swing  link  and  spring  seat,  Illinois  Traction  System. 

is  its  method  of  fastening,  which  permits  of  ease  of  replacement.  When  it 
was  necessary  to  repair  the  old  type  of  swing  link,  much  time  was  usually 
lost  in  loosening  the  nut  on  the  connection  beneath  the  spring  plank,  and 
very  frequently  these  nuts  had  to  be  split.  In  the  new  form  of  link  the 
two  are  connected  by  a  piece  of  iron  so  shaped  that  it  fits  into  slots  cut  in 
the  lower  ends  of  the  link  and  is  held  in  place  by  means  of  a  gib  and  cot- 

38 


TRUCKS,  WHEELS  AND  AXLES 


39 


ters.  Square  shoulders  on  either  side  of  the  spring  link  provide  for  hand- 
ling the  heavy  stresses.  Since  the  new  form  of  link  was  put  into  effect 
none  has  broken  and  the  time  of  making  repairs  when  necessary  in  general 
overhauling  has  been  considerably  reduced.  The  connecting  bar  between 
the  two  links  of  the  new  type  may  be  removed  by  first  jacking  up  the 
spring  plank  until  the  weight  is  released  from  the  link,  then  removing  the 
gib. 

To  remove  excess  stresses  from  the  running  gear  when  the  cars  enter 
curves  at  high  speed,  a  change  has  been  made  in  the  angularity  of  the 
swing  links.  They  are  now  set  a  little  farther  away  from  vertical  and 
thus  the  cars  adjust  themselves  a  little  more  readily  to  sharp  curves. 
This  change  in  the  pitch  of  the  swing  link  and  the  new  type  of  links  are 
applied  as  fast  as  cars  are  brought  into  the  Decatur  shops  for  repairs. 
The  cost  of  new  links  which  are  made  in  the  company's  shops  is  $4  per 
set. 


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Rub-irons  for  journal  boxes  and  pedestal  legs,  Lackawanna  and  Wyoming  Valley 

Railway. 

Rub-irons  for  Journal  Boxes  and  Pedestals. — On  the  Lackawanna  & 
Wyoming  Valley  Railway,  Scranton,  Pa.,  the  journal  boxes  and  pedestals 
are  furnished  with  wearing  shoes  or  rub-irons,  to  prevent  the  excessive 
play  of  the  brake  rigging  which  had  been  caused  by  the  wear  of  the  ped- 
estals and  boxes.  Instead  of  buying  new  boxes  the  old  ones  were  planed 
and  wearing  shoes  were  riveted  to  them  as  shown  in  an  accompanying 
engraving.  This  engraving  also  shows  the  application  of  the  shoes  to  a 
pedestal.  As  the  brakes  are  inside-hung,  the  wearing  shoes  are  put  on 
the  outer  or  end  pedestal  legs  only.  There  is  a  bushed  tie  bolt  in  the  bot- 


40 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


torn  hole  of  the  pedestal  to  hold  the  bottom,  while  the  upper  end  is  held 
by  a  1/2-in.  countersunk  bolt  which  brings  the  head  flush  with  the  shoe. 
All  wearing  shoes  are  3/16  in.  thick. 

Hartford  Wheel  Gage. — The  wheel  limit  gage  developed  in  the  Hart- 
ford shops  of  the  Connecticut  Company  is  of  hardened  tool  steel  1/16  in. 
thick,  shaped  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  drawing.  When  a  wheel  is 
in  such  condition  that  the  gage  will  set  on  the  wheel,  as  per  A  on  the  draw- 
ing, the  wheel  is  taken  out  and  turned.  If  taken  out  at  this  time,  the 
turning  does  not  decrease  the  diameter  of  the  wheel  more  than  3/8  in. 
The  section  of  the  gage  marked  B  is  used  for  gaging  broken  treads  on 
cast-iron  wheels.  When  the  tread  is  chipped  as  far  as  the  point  D  the 


Wheel  gage,  Hartford. 


wheel  is  condemned.  The  limit  C  is  for  chipped  or  worn  flanges.  When 
the  flanges  reach  C  they  are  not  permitted  to  run  under  interurban 
cars,  but  they  are  still  available  for  city  service,  subject,  of  course,  to 
frequent  inspection. 

A  Twofold  Wheel  Gage. — The  drawings  present  on  page  41  the 
detailed  design  and  assembly  of  a  wheel  gage  which  has  been  used  by  the 
Bay  State  Street  Railway,  Boston,  for  the  past  few  years.  One  drawing 
shows  how  the  wheels  are  mounted  from  the  gage  line  and  also  equidistant 
from  the  center  of  the  journals  by  means  of  a  pointer  placed  at  the  punch 
mark  in  the  center  of  the  axle.  The  maintenance  of  an  equal  distance 
between  the  center  of  the  axle  and  the  gage  lines  of  the  wheels  has  proved 
an  important  factor  in  the  reduction  of  flange  wear. 

The  gage  is  made  up  of  seasoned  ash  with  No.  14  steel  plate  on  one 


TRUCKS,  WHEELS  AND  AXLES 


41 


side  and  a  1/4-in.  thick  steel  plate  on  the  other.  The  latter  plate  is 
machined  out  to  rest  only  on  the  tread  and  contour  of  the  wheel  at  the 
gage  line  and  against  the  back  of  flange,  allowing  merely  enough  clearance 
to  take  care  of  the  tolerance  variation  of  the  wheel.  The  pointer  placed 


CENTERPOINT,  STEEL 


Details  of  Bay  State  twofold  wheel  gage. 

at  the  center  has  a  3/8-in.  X  1/2-in.  thumb  screw  at  its  lower  support  to 
make  adjustments  for  differences  in  the  diameter  of  the  wheels.  The 
gages  used  in  the  carhouses  are  made  without  the  center  point.  E.  W. 
Hoist,  superintendent  of  equipment  of  the  company,  states  that  this  gage 


NOTE: 

GAGES  FOR  USE  IN  CARHOUSES  TO  BE  MADE  WITHOUT  CENTERPOINT 

Bay  State  twofold  wheel  gage  complete. 


enables  the  man  at  the  wheel  press  to  insure  in  very  little  time  the 
accurate  mounting  of  the  wheels  relative  to  the  center  of  the  axle  and  to 
the  gage  line  of  the  wheels. 


42 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


Indianapolis  Wheel  Practice  and  Gages. — The  Indianapolis  Traction 
&  Terminal  Company  was  among  the  first  electric  roads  to  use  steel 
wheels  and  steel-tired  wheels,  but  beginning  in  1910  the  steel-tired  wheels 
have  been  gradually  eliminated.  The  forged  steel  wheels  used  under 
interurban  cars  are  34  in.  and  38  in.  in  diameter  and  have  rims  31/4  in. 
thick  with  a  contour  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  engraving.  The 
tread  of  this  wheel  is  3  in.  wide  and  the  flange  11/8  in.  thick  from  gage 
line  to  the  back  of  the  wheel.  The  flange  is  7/8  in.  deep.  It  is  the  prac- 
tice to  wear  and  turn  the  rims  down  to  a  thickness  of  5/8  in.  The  wheels 
in  service  are  inspected  with  a  limit  gage  made  from  case-hardened  steel 
1/4  in.  thick.  It  is  so  shaped  that  its  position  is  fixed  by  the  back  of  the 
wheel  and  the  flat  of  the  tread.  It  will  fit  over  a  flange  that  has  a  thick- 
ness no  greater  than  7/8  in.  on  a  line  1/4  in.  above  the  projected  line  of 
the  tread.  When  a  wheel  has  reached  this  limit  of  wear  it  is  taken  out 
of  service  and  about  5/16  in.  of  metal  is  turned  off  the  tread  in  order  to 
reshape  the  flange.  The  wheel  inspectors  pay  especial  attention  to  order- 
ing wheels  in  for  re-turning  at  the  point  in  their  life  when  the  flange  can 
be  reshaped  with  the  least  practicable  loss  of  metal  on  the  tread. 

T 


*w 

1  -v 

Vie'RAD. 

t 

A 

-  —  %—  + 

'/ 

1 


Contour  of  steel  wheel  flange  and  tread,  also  limit  of  wheel  wear  gage, 

Indianapolis. 

Axle-bearing  Sleeves. — The  drawings  on  page  43  show  the  standard 
forms  and  dimensions  of  the  brass  axle  sleeves  and  shrunk-on  cast-iron 
axle  collars  used  with  the  GE-67  motor  equipments  of  the  Georgia  Rail- 
way &  Electric  Company.  Similar  sleeves  and  collars  are  in  use  with 
the  Atlanta  company's  other  motors.  The  use  of  axle-bearing  sleeves 
involves  a  somewhat  higher  first  cost  than  ordinary  axle  bearings,  but 
this  is  more  than  balanced  by  the  reduction  in  maintenance.  The  gears 
and  pinions  continue  to  stay  in  better  mesh  than  when  the  bearing 
weight  is  concentrated  at  two  points.  As  the  sleeved  axle  penetrates  the 
gear  case  for  11/2  in.  there  is  no  trouble  from  grit  or  dirt.  The  sleeves 
are  made  of  scrap  metal  with  enough  new  metal  to  work  them  properly. 

Brooklyn  Wheel  Practice  and  Gages. — On  the  Brooklyn  Rapid 
Transit  System,  the  ultimate  rejection  of  worn  wheels  lies  with  one 


TRUCKS,  WHEELS  AND  AXLES 


43 


specialist.  All  that  the  foremen  are  expected  to  do  is  to  see  that  the 
wheels  are  worn  to  but  not  below  the  scrapping  dimensions  which  are 
specified  by  the  superintendent  of  equipment  and  that  flanges  are  worn 
in  accordance  with  limit  gages.  The  Eastern  Division  elevated  shops 


F   DENOTES    "    SECTION 
FINISH  A-B 


R        DENOTES  ROUGH 
F         DENOTES   FINISHED 


SECTION    C-D 


Detail  of  brass  axle  sleeve  for  GE-67  motor  and  cast-iron  axle  collar  used  with 

sleeve,  Atlanta. 

are  used  for  all  wheel,  axle  and  gear  work.  Before  sending  wheels  to 
these  shops  the  local  foremen  are  instructed  to  see  that  the  wheels  have 
been  worn  to  the  specified  scrapping  diameters  as  given  in  Table  I  for 
the  elevated  and  surface  divisions  respectively. 

TABLE    I.— SCRAPPING  DIAMETERS  OF  STEEL  WHEELS 

ELEVATED  DIVISION 

Description  of  Wheels  Scrapping 

Diameter 

33-in.  steel-tired  wheels 30    in. 

30-in.  steel-tired  wheels 27   in. 

34^-in.  solid  steel  motor-truck  wheels  (7^-in.  rough  bore,  used  under  Type 

1400  cars  only) 31    in. 

34-in.  solid  steel  motor-truck  wheels  (6|-in.  rough  bore) 30    in. 

34-in.  solid  steel  trailing  truck  wheels  (5f-in.  rough  bore) 29£  in. 

31-in.  solid  steel  trailing  truck  wheels 26£  in. 

Wheels  under  trailing  trucks  of  Type  1400  elevated  motor  cars,  which  operate  in 
Rockaway  Beach  service  during  summer  months,  are  removed  from  these  trucks  when 
they  reach  29  in.  diameter  and  are  used  under  other  cars  until  they  reach  26|  in. 
diameter. 

SURFACE  DIVISION 

Scrapping 
Description  of  Wheels  Diameter 

33-in.  solid  wheels  (service  car) 28|  in. 

31-in.  solid  steel  wheels  (service  car) 28£  in. 

31-in.  steel-tired  wheels  (service  car) 29    in. 

33-in.  solid  steel  wheels,  which  had  3-in.  rims  (passenger  cars) 28  £  in. 

33-in.  solid  steel  wheels,  which  had  2£-in.  rims  (passenger  cars) 29    in. 

34-in.  solid  steel  wheels,  single  and  maximum  traction  truck  drivers 30    in. 

21-in.  solid  steel  wheels  (pony) 19    in. 

21-in.  solid  steel  wheels  (pony),  new  design,  with  additional  metal  placed  on 

inside  of  wheel  under  rim 18|  in. 


44 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


TRUCKS,  WHEELS  AND  AXLES  45 

In  reference  to  Table  I  it  should  be  stated  that  a  special  pony  wheel 
with  a  deep-dished  web  was  necessary  on  account  of  interferences  with 
the  journal  boxes  on  some  old  side-bearing  maximum  traction  trucks. 

When  the  wheels  are  received  from  the  maintenance  shops  they  are 
carefully  checked  with  gages  for  defects  and  dimensions  by  the  special 
inspector  to  determine  whether  they  can  be  returned  to  service  without 
any  attention  in  the  wheel  shop.  If  any  work  is  found  necessary  or  if 
the  wheel  or  axle  has  reached  the  scrapping  limit,  the  inspector  so  indi- 
cates. The  same  man  also  examines  the  finished  wheels  and  axles  before 
they  leave  the  wheel  shops  to  see  that  they  are  in  accordance  with  the 
company's  standards.  Both  wheels  of  a  pair  must  be  within  1/32  in.  of 
same  diameter.  The  standard  inside-gage  measurement  to  which  all 
elevated  wheels  must  be  pressed  is  4  ft.  5  3/8  in.  Wheels  are  considered 
out  of  gage  if  they  are  less  than  4  ft.  5  1/4  in.  or  more  tha^i  4  ft.  5  1/2  in. 
The  accompanying  drawings  are  presented  of  the  various  types  of  gages 
used.  Some  of  these,  of  course,  are  also  furnished  to  the  outside  shops  to 
guide  them  in  returning  wheels.  One  of  the  diagrams  on  page  44 
shows  the  flange  limit  gage  of  the  elevated  division  and  the  flange  gage 
for  surface  rolled  wheels,  as  well  as  the  standard  gages  for  mounting  and 
inspecting  wheels  on  surface  trucks  of  Brill  maximum  traction,  Peckham 
14-D-5,  M.C.B.  passenger  and  M.C.B.  diamond-frame  freight  trucks. 

Wheel  Changing  at  Mobile. — S.  M.  Coffin,  master  mechanic  of  the 
Mobile  (Ala.)  Light  &  Railroad  Company,  dispenses  with  the  usual  pit 
or  car-jacking  methods  of  changing  wheel  pairs  in  trucks.  A  car  requiring 
attention  of  this  kind  is  run  up  an  inclined  track  until  the  truck  rests  on 
a  removable  section  of  track  which  is  kept  in  place  by  an  air  hoist.  As 
soon  as  the  wheel  and  axle  set  is  unbolted,  it  is  lowered  to  the  floor  by  means 
of  the  hoist  and  taken  to  the  machine  shop.  Vice  versa,  the  replacing  set 
is  rolled  into  the  removable  section  of  track  when  the  latter  is  flush  with 
the  floor  and  then  raised  into  the  side  frames  of  the  trucks.  This  method 
was  very  economical  to  install  as  the  trestle  was  built  up  of  old  rails, 
brakebeams,  turn-buckles,  etc.,  and  the  pit  itself  did  not  require  much 
work  as  it  had  to  be  of  little  greater  depth  than  the  rails.  Mr.  Coffin 
states  that  with  wheels  fitted  on  the  axles  two  men  usually  can  change  a 
pair  of  wheels  in  an  hour  but  the  record  time  for  this  work  is  36  minutes. 
If  it  is  desired  to  put  the  same  axle  back  into  the  car  when  changing,  three 
men  can  bore,  fit  and  make  the  complete  change  in  two  and  a  half  hours. 


CLEANSING  BY  DIPPING  OR  SAND-BLASTING,  CAR  WASH- 
ING, PAINTING  AND  GLAZING 

Caustic-soda  Baths  for  Trucks  and  Motors. — Among  the  interesting 
practices  of  the  shops  of  the  Hamburg  (Germany)  Rapid  Transit  System 
is  the  dipping  of  trucks  and  motor  shells  in  caustic-soda  solution.  Thus 
a  complete  truck  frame  minus  the  journal  boxes  is  brought  by  a  crane  for 
dipping  into  a  cleaning  tank  containing  a  solution  steam-heated  to  a  tem- 
perature of  100  deg.  C.  Ordinarily  a  steel,  cement-covered  sliding  door 
completely  closes  this  compartment  at  the  floor  line,  but  the  top  is  left  open 
to  permit  ingress  and  egress  for  the  objects  brought  to  the  tanks.  By 
this  arrangement  no  dirty  water  can  bespatter  the  main  shop.  A  smaller 
caustic-soda  tank  is  provided  opposite  the  larger  tank  for  the  dipping  of 
motor  shells.  The  use  of  a  hot  caustic-soda  solution  has  proved  very 
effective  for  the  thorough  and  quick  cleansing  of  metal  parts. 

Sand-blasting  at  San  Francisco. — At  the  shops  of  the  United  Railroads 
of  San  Francisco  practically  all  apparatus  for  repair  is  exposed  to  a  sand 
blast  before  being  welded  or  undergoing  any  other  repairs.  The  process 
is  very  simple  and  quick  and  rapidly  cleans  the  grease  and  dirt  from  the 
part  and  makes  the  application  of  the  welding  process  or  other  repair  a 
simple  matter.  The  sand-blast  is  used  even  on  such  parts  as  commutator 
and  the  boards  of  controllers  and  thoroughly  cleans  the  metal  parts  with- 
out affecting  the  insulation.  Trucks  also  are  sand-blasted  when  brought 
into  the  truck  shop  for  overhauling.  This  not  only  removes  all  grease, 
dirt,  old  paint,  etc.,  but  it  also  gives  a  clean  surface  of  metal  so  that  it 
is  easy  for  an  inspector  to  see  whether  there  are  any  mechanical  defects 
in  the  truck  which  need  attention. 

Car  Cleaning  in  Denver. — The  cars  of  the  Denver  City  Tramway  are 
each  supplied  with  an  ordinary  cornstraw,  four-sewed  house  broom, 
weighing  24  Ib.  to  the  dozen.  As  opportunity  offers,  conductors  do  some 
sweeping  out  of  cars  at  the  end  of  the  line,  during  the  time  of  service,  and 
each  conductor  is  supplied  with  a  Canton-flannel  wiping  cloth  (12  in.  X  24 
in.  in  size)  and  does  some  dusting.  Every  day  each  car,  whether  out  on 
a  long  or  a  short  run,  is  swept  out  by  the  conductor  before  it  is  put  back 
in  the  carhouse.  In  addition  to  this  daily  sweeping,  one  cleaner  at  each 
carhouse  does  nothing  but  sweep  out  cars,  after  having  lightly  sprinkled 
them.  He  sweeps  an  average  of  forty-five  cars  per  night  of  ten  hours. 

46 


CLEANSING  BY  DIPPING  OR  SAND-BLASTING  47 

On  the  basis  of  the  average  maximum  cars  operated  daily,  278,  a  car  is 
well  swept  every  one  and  a  half  days. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  cars  are  dry-cleaned  with  cheese-cloth,  Canton- 
flannel  or  white  waste  saturated  with  a  polishing  oil,  the  men  going  over 
the  exterior  and  interior  of  the  car,  collecting  the  dust  and  dirt  and  giving 
the  surface  a  fairly  well-polished  appearance.  This  includes  all  of  the 
interior  down  to  the  mopboard  and  all  of  the  exterior  of  the  car.  The 
mopboard  is  cleaned  by  the  use  of  a  cleaning  soap  which  is  diluted  in 
water.  Each  cleaner  has  a  pail  of  diluted  soap  or  suds  and  uses  it  fre- 
quently on  other  parts  of  the  car  besides  the  mopboard,  but  if  used  on  a 
varnished  surface  it  is  immediately  washed  off  and  followed  by  the  oiled 
polisher.  On  the  basis  of  maximum  cars  operated  every  car  is  cleaned 
once  in  2.6  days. 

No  water  whatever  is  used  in  the  car-cleaning  work  except  from  the 
pails  mentioned,  by  means  of  a  wet  rag,  and  after  storms,  when  mud  is 
washed  from  the  outside  of  cars  by  a  hose.  For  cleaning  glass  the  method 
has  been  to  use  dry  whiting.  With  the  exception  of  cars  which  may  be 
shopped  for  repairs  and  out  of  service,  all  cars  are  disinfected  daily  with 
"  formalin."  This  is  used  in  a  small  tin  spray  gun,  and  the  operator  goes 
over  the  entire  car  floor  under  and  around  the  seats. 

During  the  time  of  working  cars  through  the  paint  shop,  which  is 
on  a  basis  of  every  eleven  months,  after  the  car  is  stripped  of  all  sash  and 
trimmings  the  interior  and  exterior  are  thoroughly  scrubbed  with  a  strong 
solution  of  old-fashioned  soft  soap. 

Instantaneous  Electric  Water  Heater  for  Car  Washing  at  Cincinnati. — 
Home-made  water-heating  devices  of  many  descriptions  have  been  em- 
ployed in  the  car-washing  departments  of  street  and  interurban  rail- 
ways and  have  usually  involved  the  combination  of  a  heater  and  a  hot- 
water  storage  tank.  Such  a  plant,  however,  was  not  considered  prac- 
ticable by  the  mechanical  department  of  the  Cincinnati  Traction  Com- 
pany owing  to  several  controlling  factors  imposed  by  local  conditions. 
Hot  water  was  desired  throughout  the  year,  and  therefore  it  could  not 
be  furnished  by  the  steam-heating  plant.  Again,  car  washing  was  done 
in  one  end  of  the  paint  shop  bay,  so  that  a  coal  heater  could  not  be 
employed  unless  it  was  installed  at  some  outside  point,  and,  finally,  it 
was  desirable  to  have  hot  water  at  a  pressure,  a  condition  which  could 
not  be  obtained  continuously  with  an  ordinary  coal-type  heater  with 
a  tank.  With  these  limits  in  mind  a  home-made  electric  water  heater 
was  designed  and  installed.  Although  the  cost  of  heating  water  elec- 
trically was  greater  than  by  other  methods,  the  device  met  all  the  re- 
quirements, and  the  quantity  of  current  used  was  so  small  as  not  to 
make  the  cost  prohibitive.  For  all  practical  purposes  this  home-made 
water  heater  is  instantaneous.  It  consists  of  a  box  8  ft.  long  by  2  ft. 


48 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


square  in  section,  built  of  1  1/4-in.  yellow  pine.  The  box  is  lined  with 
1/4-in.  transit  board  to  insulate  the  wood  from  the  heater  coils.  Eight 
17-amp.  electric-coil  heaters  are  installed  on  the  bottom  and  sides  of 
the  box,  arranged  in  two  circuits,  with  four  heaters  in  each.  These  are 
supplied  with  energy  through  a  direct  connection  to  the  550-volt  trolley 
by  way  of  a  knife  switch,  and  they  are  sufficient  to  maintain  a  tem- 
perature of  210  deg.  in  the  box.  The  heater  coils  on  the  bottom  of  the 
box  serve  as  supports  for  the  1-in.  wrought-iron  pipe  coils  which  are 
arranged  in  a  rack  four  coils  high  and  six  coils  wide.  These  pipes  form 
a  continuous  coil  which  is  connected  with  the  city  water  supply  at  one 
end  and  to  a  hose  connection  at  the  other.  When  the  valves  provided 
at  each  end  of  the  coil  are  open,  cold  water  flows  through  and  the  heat 
maintained  in  the  box  by  the  electric  heaters  is  sufficient  to  raise  the 
temperature  of  the  water  to  a  point  suitable  for  car  washing  before  it 
reaches  the  hose  connection.  In  actual  service  this  heater  has  been 
found  of  ample  capacity  to  supply  four  scrubbers  with  all  the  hot  water 
they  can  use  in  a  ten-hour  day. 


Motor-driven  car-washing  device,  Seattle. 

Motor-driven  Car-washing  Device. — The  accompanying  illustration 
shows  the  general  arrangement  of  a  car- washing  device  invented  by  A.  D. 
Campbell,  master  mechanic  Seattle  division  Puget  Sound  Traction, 
Light  &  Power  Company,  and  in  use  at  the  Georgetown  shops  of  that 
organization.  The  device  consists  of  a  cylindrical  brush  20  in.  in  diameter 
and  8  ft.  high,  mounted  upon  a  vertical  axis  and  driven  in  a  wooden  frame 
of  adjustable  design  by  a  5-h.p.,  550-volt  d.c.  motor  located  on  the  top 
of  the  frame.  The  framing  is  made  up  of  4-in.  X7-in.  and  6-in.  square 


CLEANSING  BY  DIPPING  OR  SAND-BLASTING 


49 


[COMPRESSOR I  PUMP  USED 
ON  CAR 


timbers  and  can  easily  be  installed  between  any  two  tracks  of  a  car-wash- 
ing floor.  Water  is  supplied  at  the  top  of  the  brush  by  a  1  1/2-in.  pipe 
connected  at  its  lower  end  with  a  valve  and  hose  coupling.  The  motor 
starter  and  switch  are  located  upon  a  post  at  the  side  of  the  washing 
device.  Cars  are  washed  by  running  them  slowly  past  the  rotating 
brush,  which  provides  effective  cleaning  on  the  exterior  of  the  body  in 
much  shorter  time  than  is  possible  by  hand  and  with  nominal  expense. 
The  original  design  of  the  device  provides  for  the  use  of  a  double  set  of 
brushes  driven  by  a  single  motor  of  the  size  above  stated  so  that  each  side 
of  the  car  can  be  cleaned  at  the  same  time. 
The  device  is  easily  taken  down  and  can  be 
readily  erected  in  other  locations. 

Combined  Suction  and  Pressure  Apparatus 
for  Car  Cleaning  (By  C.  H.  Copley).— The 
writer  has  been  using  for  some  time,  at  the 
Norwalk  division  shops  of  the  Connecticut 
Company,  a  combination  vacuum  and  pres- 
sure car-cleaning  outfit,  the  design  of  which 
may  be  of  interest  to  others  who  have  a 
compressor  available.  The  piping  connec- 
tions which  are  shown  in  the  accompanying 
sketch  are  manipulated  as  follows: 

To  use  as  a  vacuum  or  seat  cleaner,  close  A 
and  C  and  open  the  valves  B  and  F.  About 
two  pails  of  water  are  used  in  the  tank  to 
prevent  the  entrance  of  dirt  and  dust  into  the 
pump.  Upon  starting  the  machine  with  the 
valves  set  as  above,  close  the  tank  connections 
E  and  F  and  open  G,  upon  which  the  water 
will  be  sucked  into  the  tank.  Close  G  after  the  water  is  in  the  tank  and 
then  with  the  suction  hose  hitched  on  at  F  open  F  and  the  apparatus  is 
ready  for  service.  It  is  desirable  to  change  the  water  for  every  third  car. 
To  clean  the  tank  stop  the  machine  and  open  F  and  G,  whereupon  the 
dirt  and  water  will  run  out. 

To  use  this  equipment  for  the  compressed-air  cleaning  of  controllers, 
motor  shells,  armatures,  etc.,  close  valves  D  and  B,  open  valves  C  and  A, 
close  the  tank  valves  F  and  G,  attach  hose  to  E  and  open  ready  for  service. 

In  this  way  a  20-ft.  closed  car  can  be  thoroughly  cleaned  in  15  minutes 
and  a  33-ft.  car  in  30  minutes. 

Disappearing  Scaffold  for  Washing  Cars— Heating  Water  for  Car 
Washing. — The  mechanical  department  of  the  Chicago,  South  Bend  & 
Northern  Indiana  Railway  installed  in  1912  an  ingenious  disappearing 
scaffold  in  its  shops  at  South  Bend,  Ind.  The  scaffold  support  consists  of 


Combined  suction  and 
pressure  apparatus  for  car 
cleaning. 


50  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

two  sections.  One  is  a  3-in.  cast-iron  flanged  pipe,  7  ft.  long,  buried 
underground  with  the  flange  flush  with  the  floor.  Inserted  in  this  3-in. 
pipe  is  a  6-ft.  section  of  2  1/2-in.  wrought-iron  pipe,  provided  with  a  cap 
and  handle  for  raising  or  lowering.  The  2  1/2-in.  pipes  which  form  the 
legs  of  the  scaffold  are  spaced  on  11-ft.  centers  and  are  provided  with 
slots  for  inserting  a  removable  bracket  made  of  3/4-in.  round  iron.  The 
lower  portions  of  these  pipes  are  also  provided  with  holes  drilled  on  6-in. 
centers  to  permit  the  insertion  of  the  3/4-in.  pins  which  support  the  scaffold 
at  the  desired  working  elevation.  These  pins  are  attached  to  the  flanges 
of  the  3-in.  pipe  by  chains  to  prevent  their  being  mislaid.  The  advantages 
of  a  scaffold  support  of  this  character  are  evident,  in  that  it  can  be 
lowered  to  the  floor  level  out  of  the  way  of  any  other  work  which  it  may 
be  necessary  to  do  beside  a  car,  and  yet  is  of  a  substantial,  permanent 
construction. 

In  connection  with  the  disappearing  wash  scaffold  a  very  interesting 
and  inexpensive  installation  has  been  made  for  heating  the  water  used  to 
wash  the  cars.  This  installation  consists  of  an  ordinary  12-barrel 
galvanized  water  tank  supported  on  the  lower  cords  of  the  roof  trusses. 
This  tank  is  supplied  by  water  from  the  city  water  mains  and  the  water 
supply  is  controlled  by  a  floating  automatic  valve  arrangement,  similar 
to  that  used  in  a  flush  tank.  The  water  in  the  tank  is  kept  at  about  the 
boiling  temperature  by  six  6-ft.  sections  of  1-in.  pipe,  supplied  with  steam 
from  the  high-pressure  heating  plant.  C.  E.  Atkinson,  master  mechanic 
for  the  South  Bend  company,  who  is  responsible  for  both  the  wash 
scaffold  and  water-heating  installations,  is  of  the  opinion  that  much 
better  results  can  be  obtained  by  washing  cars  with  hot  water  than  with 
cold,  in  that  it  reduces  the  quantity  of  soap  required  and  labor  necessary 
to  get  a  first-class  job. 

A  Power-driven  Car  Cleaner. — The  following  detailed  particulars  on 
cleaning  the  sides  of  steel  cars  with  a  motor-driven  car  cleaner  have  been 
furnished  by  P.  V.  See,  superintendent  car  equipment,  Hudson  &  Man- 
hattan Railroad,  Jersey  City,  N.  J.  The  device  consists  of  an  electric 
drill  to  which  a  circular  brush  is  attached,  the  whole  being  operated 
noiselessly  through  speed-reduction  gearing  at  1350  r.p.m.  by  a  110-volt, 
25-cycle  motor.  The  original  drive  was  pneumatic,  but  this  was  found 
to  be  too  noisy  and  inconvenient  on  account  of  the  dragging  hose.  It 
was  also  rather  expensive  in  maintenance  and  air  consumption.  In  fact, 
the  cost  of  energy  for  air  consumption  was  about  50  cents  a  day  compared 
with  2  cents  a  day  for  straight  electric  drive.  The  brush  is  of  the  ordinary 
round  window-cleaning  type  used  for  manual  car  cleaning  with  a  bristle 
holder  of  about  5  1/2-in.  diameter,  but  the  original  bristles  are  replaced 
by  stiffer  ones.  One  brush  will  serve  to  clean  the  exteriors  of  about 
twelve  48-ft.  all-steel  cars.  After  this  the  brushes  are  still  used  by  the 


CLEANSING  BY  DIPPING  OR  SAND-BLASTING  51 

men  to  spread  the  emulsion  by  hand  before  it  is  worked  up  by  means  of 
the  machine.  The  brush  is  not  operated  at  the  high  speed  hereinbefore 
noted  because  when  pressure  is  applied  to  the  brush  its  speed  is  greatly 
reduced.  The  entire  mechanism  weighs  only  6  1/4  lb.,  and  as  the  trailing 
wire  is  very  light  a  workman  can  use  it  steadily  all  day  long  without 
feeling  any  undue  fatigue.  The  revolving  brush  has  been  found  especially 
effective  in  working  around  rivets. 

This  brush  is  used  in  connection  with  a  car-cleaning  emulsion  as  fol- 
lows: First,  one  of  the  two  men  per  car  spreads  the  material  by  hand 
over  various  parts  of  the  exterior  with  a  worn  brush;  then  the  revolving 
brush  is  used  for  the  cleaning  and  polishing;  next  the  sides  are  wiped  down 
with  dry  waste,  and  finally  the  outside  panes  of  the  windows  are  cleaned. 

The  method  of  paying  for  cleaning  car  exteriors  in  this  way  is  also  of 
interest.  Two  men  always  work  together,  taking  turns  in  handling  the 
motor  brush.  The  reason  for  including  outside  window  cleaning  by  the 
same  men  is  to  make  them  exercise  more  care  in  preventing  the  spattering 
of  the  emulsion.  This  policy  has  eliminated  complaints  from  the  regular 
window  cleaners,  who  had  asserted  that  their  work  was  ruined  by  the 
carelessness  of  the  emulsion  users.  With  the  aid  of  the  electrically  oper- 
ated brush  two  men  clean  the  exteriors  of  three  cars  in  an  eight-hour  day, 
at  an  average  labor  cost  of  $1.07  per  car,  compared  with  a  cost  of  $1.75 
when  the  work  was  done  by  hand  at  the  rate  of  two  cars  a  day  with  a 
two-man  gang.  This  payment  is  based  on  the  bonus  rate  system  which 
is  used  in  these  shops  for  all  work  except  the  straight  window  cleaning, 
which  is  on  a  piece-work  basis.  The  bonus  rate  for  this  operation  is 
$1.20  per  car.  The  hour  rate  of  each  of  the  two  men  is  17  1/2  cents,  so 
that  the  labor  cost  of  turning  out  the  three  cars  in  eight  hours  is  $2.80. 
At  the  bonus  rate  of  $1.20  per  car,  however,  this  cost  would  be  $3.60. 
The  company  therefore  divides  evenly  with  the  men  the  difference  be- 
tween $3.60  and  $2.80,  so  that  each  cleaner  earns  20  cents  extra  a  day. 
The  cost  of  the  material  averages  about  50  3/4  cents  per  car,  based  upon 
the  use  of  1  1/3  Ib.  of  waste  and  2/3  gal.  of  the  emulsion.  Motor-brush 
cleaning  is  done  once  a  month.  In  addition,  however,  arrangements  are 
made  to  dry-wipe  the  cars  twice  a  month  in  view  of  the  tendency  of  the 
emulsion  to  catch  particles  of  dust.  The  dry-wiping  is  done  by  two  men 
who  go  over  the  cars  at  the  terminals.  Such  cleaning  takes  about  half 
an  hour  and  costs  about  30  cents  per  car. 

Car  Washing  Versus  Paint  Preservation  (By  Morgan  B.  Smith). — 
In  the  latter  part  of  November,  1912,  E.  J.  Burdick,  superintendent  of 
power  of  the  Detroit  United  Lines,  made  a  trip  to  one  of  the  suburban 
car- washing  stations  of  his  company  for  the  purpose  of  noting  the  methods 
used  in  washing  the  large  interurban  cars  running  on  that  division.  He 
was  particularly  interested  in  finding  out  the  reasons  for  the  failure  of  the 


52 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


paint  and  varnish  on  one  of  the  cars  after  only  three  months'  service  after 
it  was  refinished. 

The  results  of  this  observation  of  methods  at  one  car-washing  station 
led  to  a  very  complete  investigation  of  the  methods  employed  at  the 
other  stations,  about  twenty  in  number.  This  general  investigation 
proved  beyond  any  doubt  that  the  washing  of  cars  plays  a  large  part  in 
the  life  of  the  paint  and  varnish  with  which  the  cars  are  finished. 


!  J  U  I!1 


»^ 


S  H£  50  2,000,000  140,000 

£  SS  45  1,750,000  120,000 

3  5s  M 

1600  8  £  40  1,500,000  100,000 1  X  X 

1400  140  35  1,250,000     80,000 

1200  120  30  1,000,000     60,000 

1000  100  25  750,000     40,000 


800  80  20 
600  60  15 
400  40  10 
200  20  5 
000 


500,000     20,000 

250,000      10,000 

00 


3  4 

LIFE  OF  PAINT  YEAR 


Diagram  showing  statistics  of  painting  cars,  Detroit. 

In  order  to  indicate  in  a  general  way  the  importance  of  long  life  of  car 
finish  some  computations  were  made  on  the  basis  of  1600  cars  in  service 
(a  low  figure)  at  a  cost  of  $80  each  for  refinishing  (also  a  low  figure). 
These  calculations  are  shown  in  Table  I. 

Not  only  is  there  the  direct  cost  of  preparing  the  car  for  refinishing 
and  the  subsequent  refinishing;  there  is  also  the  much  greater  factor, 
namely,  the  loss  of  earning  time  while  the  cars  are  out  of  service  in  the 
paint  shop. 

Assuming  that  it  requires  four  weeks  properly  to  refinish  each  car,  we 
arrive  at  the  figures  given  in  Table  II,  which  show  the  actual  loss  of  earn- 
ing time  in  car  days  per  year  and  in  years  per  year. 


CLEANSING  BY  DIPPING  OR  SAND-BLASTING 


53 


TABLE  I.— POSSIBILITIES  OF  ECONOMIES 


Life  of 
paint,  years 

No.  cars 
painted 
per  year 

Cost  to 
paint  cars 

Saving  in  cost 
of  painting 
(Cumulative) 

Cost  to  paint  cars 
represents  an  invest- 
ment of  (at  6  per  cent.) 

1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

1600 
800 
534 
400 
320 
267 

$128,000 
64,000 
42,720 
32,000 
25,600 
21,360 

$64,000 
85,280 
96,000 
102,400 
106,640 

$2,133,333 
1,066,666 
712,000 
533,333 
426,666 
356,000 

TABLE  II.— ACTUAL  LOSS  OF  EARNING  TIME 


Life  of 
paint,  years 

Cars  painted 
per  year 

Loss  of  earning  time  per  year 

Years  per  year 

Car  days  per  year 

1 

1600 

123.1 

44,800 

2 

800 

61.5 

22,400 

3 

534 

41.0 

14,952 

4 

400 

30.0 

11,200 

5 

320 

24.6 

8,960 

6 

267 

20.5 

7,476 

As  the  result  of  this  investigation  the  company  determined  to  turn  the 
matter  over  to  the  laboratory  for  thorough  research  there  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  writer  of  this  article. 

The  results  of  the  laboratory  research  may  be  summarized  thus: 
Criticism  of  Old  Methods. — 1.  Water  at  too  high  a  temperature  is  used. 

2.  Too  much  soap  is  used. 

3.  The  period  of  contact  of  soap  with  the  highly  finished  surfaces  is 
too  long,  i.e.,  rinsing  does  not  follow  soon  enough  after  the  application  of 
the  soap. 

4.  The  use  of  soda  ash  cannot  be  too  highly  condemned. 

5.  There  is  insufficient  wetting  of  the  car  surfaces  to  soften  hard  mud 
and  dust  and  to  loosen  sand,  etc. 

6.  Soap  is  used  which  undoubtedly  attacks  the  varnish  and  paint. 
Investigation  of  Methods  Criticized. — 1.  Reference  to  builders  of  motor 

cars  and  other  highly  finished  vehicles,  followed  by  exhaustive  laboratory 
tests,  showed  that  the  maximum  safe  temperature  for  wash  water  is  80 
deg.  Fahr. 

2.  The  use  of  too  much  soap  may  be  avoided  (and  now  is)  by  supplying 
the  car-washing  stations  with  a  stock  soap  solution  of  a  strength  equiva- 
lent to  1.5  oz.  per  gallon  of  water.     With  stronger  soaps  this  weight  of 
soap  may  be  reduced,  but  it  should  never  be  used  on  car  surfaces  at  a 
greater  strength  than  given  above. 

3.  Rinsing  must  follow  the  soaping  immediately  to  avoid  attack  by 
the  soap  on  the  car  surfaces. 


54 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


4.  Soda  ash  or  other  equivalent  alkali  must  be  kept  out  of  reach  of 
the  car  washers.     It  is  an  excellent  paint  remover. 

5.  Cars  must  be  wet  down  over  the  entire  surfaces  at  least  twice  and, 
better,  three  times,  to  assure  the  softening  of  the  accumulated  mud  and 
sandy  particles. 

6.  Referring  to  paragraph  one,  above,  we  recommend  that  at  each 
car-washing  station  there  be  installed  a  suitable  recording  thermometer 
in  each  of  the  supply  tanks  so  that  a  record  of  the  temperature  of  the  wash 
water  may  be  had  for  every  hour  of  the  day.     We  further  recommend 
that  the  charts  used  be  marked  with  red  ink  at  the  desired  temperature 
(80  deg.  Fahr.)  so  that  the  men  in  charge  may  see  at  a  glance  whether 
the  temperature  is  correct  or  not. 

6.  The  character  of  the  soap  used  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  the  life 
of  the  varnish  and  paint  upon  which  it  is  used. 

Analyses  of  Soaps. — In  order  to  get  some  knowledge  of  the  general  run 
of  the  .so-called  potash  oil  soaps  on  the  market,  eleven  soaps  were  pur- 
chased in  the  open  market  in  the  city  of  Detroit  and  analyzed.  The 
results  are  shown  in  Table  III. 

TABLE  III. — ANALYSES  OF  SOAPS,  PERCENTAGES 


Soap  No. 

1 

2 

3     |     4 

5 

6 

7     |     8 

9     |     10 

11 

Water  
Free  acid 

58.45 
0.17 
5.88 
0.06 

59.85 
0.51 
5.54 
0.08 
0.03 

29.00 
4.99 

64.05 
0.40 
4.45 
0.07 
0.03 

29.50 
1.51 

58.86 
0.43 
5.31 
0.05 
0.05 

31.00 
4.31 

49.41 
0.17 
5.53 
1.84 
0.02 

39.00 
4.04 

52.62 
0.23 
6.65 
0.08 
0.01 

33.00 
7.81 

54.62 
0.51 
6.31 
0.06 
0.02 

32.60 
5.89 

47.36 
0.28 
6.69 
0.11 
0.01 

39.50 
6.05 

54.90 
0.56 
5.44 
0.94 
0.01 

30.04 
8.13 

64.5 
0.43 
5.23 
0.10 
0.01 

28.18 
1.53 

53.75 
1.07 

6.28 
0.085 
trace 

37.88 
0.935 

Total  alkali  .  .  . 
Free  alkali.  .  .  . 
Insoluble         in 
water. 
Fats  (soap)  .... 
Undetermined 
(fillers),      gly- 
cerine,   etc. 

29.2 
6.24 

Notice  the  free  alkali  in  Nos.  5  and  9  and  the  free  acid  in  No.  1 1. 

These  soaps  were  also  used  in  so-called  panel  tests,  which  will  be 
described  below. 

No  soap  was  found  which  did  not  in  time  attack  the  varnish  and  paint 
on  the  test  panels.  As  the  result  largely  of  the  panel  tests,  recommenda- 
tions were  made  as  follows  in  the  matter  of  first,  second,  third,  fourth 
and  fifth  choice  among  the  soaps  tested  for  the  given  utility,  namely,  car 
washing.  First  choice,  soap  No.  3 ;  second  choice,  soap  No.  9;  third  choice, 
soap  No.  4;  fourth  choice,  soap  No.  2;  fifth  choice,  soap  No.  10.  It  is 
to  be  noted  that  those  soaps  which  had  the  least  detrimental  effect  upon 
paint  and  varnish  in  the  panel  tests  are  those  which  contain  medium 
amounts  of  actual  soap,  running  from  28.18  per  cent,  to  31.00  per  cent, 
fats  (anhydrides). 


CLEANSING  BY  DIPPING  OR  SAND-BLASTING 


55 


Soap  No.  5,  above,  contains  a  large  percentage  of  free  alkali  and 
showed  by  far  the  worst  attack  on  paint  and  varnish. 

Panel  Tests. — In  the  so-called  panel  tests  sections  of  panels  from  trolley 
cars  were  subjected  to  the  action  of  solutions  of  the  soaps  being  tested. 
The  panels  were  one-half  immersed.  The  temperature  was  that  of  the 
laboratory,  ranging  from  20  deg.  to  24  deg.  C.  The  strength  of  the  soap 
solutions  in  each  case  was  equivalent  to  10  grams  per  liter  (1.33  oz.  per 
gallon) . 

The  panels  were  immersed  in  the  soap  solutions,  left  for  a  stated  time, 
removed,  rinsed  with  running  water  and  brushed  off  with  a  soft  long-haired 
brush.  The  condition  of  the  paint  and  varnish  was  then  noted. 

The  panel  tests  resulted  as  shown  in  Table  IV,  beginning  with  that 
soap  which  showed  the  least  effect  upon  the  paint  and  varnish: 


TABLE  IV.— RESULTS  OF  PANEL  TESTS 


Time: 
Soap  No: 

24  hours 
2 

48  hours 
2 

96  hours 
4 

120  hours 
3 

13  days 
3 

14  days 
3 

3 

3 

3 

4 

9 

9 

7-11 

7-11 

10 

9 

4 

4 

4-10 

4 

6 

10 

1 

2 

9 

10 

2 

6 

2 

10 

5 

9 

9 

1 

10 

1 

1 

6        1 

2 

6 

7 

6 

5 

7-11 

7-11 

8 

6 

8 

8 

o 

8 

7-11 

8 

The  panel  tests  are  undoubtedly  of  great  value  in  the  final  acceptance 
or  rejection  of  soaps  for  car- washing  purposes. 

There  was  a  very  great  divergence  in  the  character  of  the  soaps  tested 
in  the  panel  tests,  there  being  a  decided  line  of  demarcation  between  the 
first  five  soaps  and  the  remaining  specimens. 

All  analyses  were  carried  out  in  the  manner  recommended  by  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  Bureau  of  Chemistry,  Bulletin 
No.  109,  revised. 

New  Basis  for  Car  Washing. — Upon  completion  of  this  very  important 
research  the  matter  of  car  washing  was  at  once  placed  upon  a  new  basis. 
A  competent  man,  trained  in  practical  handling  of  paints  and  varnishes, 
was  placed  in  charge  of  this  operation  and  is  now  held  responsible  for 
the  work  on  the  cars. 

The  new  system  has  now  been  in  operation  in  Detroit  about  twelve 
months  and  already  the  bettered  conditions  are  evident.  Not  only  is 
there  less  attack  on  the  paint  and  varnish,  the  cars  look  better  and 
brighter.  They  lack  a  certain  dulled  appearance  which  they  formerly 
quickly  assumed  in  the  course  of  washing.  The  varnish  retains  its 


56  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

luster  very  markedly  compared  with  its  appearance  under  the  old  methods 
of  car  washing. 

The  company  hopes  to  lengthen  the  life  of  the  paint  and  varnish  at 
least  one  year;  it  may  be  that  an  increase  of  two  or  three  years  is  entirely 
within  reach.  Reference  to  the  calculations  given  above  shows  what  an 
important  factor  this  is  in  the  economies  of  car  maintenance. 

As  in  all  work  of  this  nature,  experience  will  show  what  is  most  desir- 
able and  where  improvements  may  be  made  in  the  recommendations 
advanced  for  the  new  car-washing  methods. 

The  company  believes  it  has  located  one  of  the  " leaks"  which  have 
gone  unnoticed  heretofore  in  car  handling,  and  it  is  giving  this  information 
to  the  railroad  world  in  the  hope  that  it  may  be  of  interest  and  value  to 
those  engaged  in  the  operation  and  maintenance  of  cars  in  general. 

Painter's  Scaffold  at  San  Francisco. — An  interesting  feature  of  the 
paint  shop  of  the  United  Railroads  of  San  Francisco  is  an  adjustable 
painter's  scaffold,  which  runs  the  entire  length  of  the  shops.  The  con- 
struction includes  the  use  of  permanent  wooden  posts,  4  in.  X6  in.  and 
spaced  13  ft.  apart.  They  are  set  in  concrete  to  a  depth  of  8  in.  The 
adjustable  rack  with  which  each  post  is  equipped,  for  holding  the  painters' 
boards,  is  simply  a  strap-iron  bracket  made  up  of  1  1/2-in.  X3/4-in.  iron, 
looped  around  the  post  and  with  an  arm  on  its  outer  end  on  which  the 
painters'  boards  rest.  The  angle  at  which  this  bracket  hangs  on  the 
pole  provides  sufficient  friction  so  that  it  will  hold  its  position  on  the  post 
under  the  weight  of  the  painters.  As  it  is  simply  looped  around  the  post, 
its  height.,  of  course,  may  easily  be  adjusted. 

Painting  Fenders  by  Dipping. — At  the  Hartford  shops  of  the  Connecti- 
cut Company  a  simple  yet  effective  means  is  used  to  paint  fenders.  They 
are  not  coated  with  a  brush  but  are  just  dipped  into  about  2  in.  to  3  in. 
of  fender  compound,  which  floats  on  top  of  the  water  in  a  wooden  tank. 
The  fenders  are  then  set  aside  without  any  further  attention  and  dry  in 
from  fifteen  minutes  to  twenty  minutes. 

Painting  Fenders  and  Trucks  with  an  Air-brush. — At  Toronto  an 
economical  method  of  painting  fenders  is  to  coat  them  with  a  tar  varnish 
as  sprayed  from  an  air  brush  at  80  Ib.  to  90  Ib.  pressure.  The  fender  is 
set  up  under  a  hood  which  is  provided  with  air-blowing  connections  for 
drawing  up  the  varnish  vapors.  The  air  brush  enables  two  men  to  paint 
sixteen  fenders  an  hour,  as  against  three  fenders  painted  by  hand  in  the 
same  time.  The  air  painting  is  also  superior  to  the  old  hand  method  as 
there  is  no  tendency  for  the  paint  to  gather  in  lumps.  The  varnish 
which  gets  by  the  grids  is  caught  in  catchpans,  the  contents  of  which 
are  afterward  removed  for  re-use.  The  same  method  has  been  applied 
to  truck  painting  without  using  an  exhaust  hood.  First  the  trucks  are 
thoroughly  scraped  and  cleaned  with  compressed  air.  By  using  the  air 


CLEANSING  BY  DIPPING  OR  SAND-BLASTING  57 

brush,  one  man  can  coat  a  truck  with  a  mineral  quick-drying  paint  in 
one  hour  or  about  one-fourth  the  time  required  by  hand. 

A  Paint  Shop  Kink  in  Drying  Racks. — An  improvement  over  the 
usual  method  of  constructing  drying  racks  for  varnished  sash  frames  is 
to  use  triangular  strips  on  the  sides  instead  of  rectangular  strips  or  trays. 
Only  the  lower  corners  of  the  side  pieces  of  the  sash  frames  come  in  con- 
tact with  the  supporting  strips  so  that  the  varnished  surfaces  are  not 
marred  in  any  way.  A  considerable  saving  in  the  space  required  between 
the  sashes  is  also  effected  and  more  frames  can  be  placed  in  a  rack  of  the 
same  height.  Canvas  curtains  should  be  used  in  front  of  the  drying 
frames  to  keep  out  dust. 

Handling  Varnish  by  Air  Pressure. — The  paint  stockroom  of  the 
Chicago  Railways  Company  makes  use  of  the  shop  air  supply  for  a  number 
of  operations.  Among  these  is  the  transferring  of  oil,  turpentine  and 
varnish  from  the  barrels  in  which  they  are  received  into  large  elevated 
storage  tanks.  A  barrelful  of  turpentine  or  varnish  is  rolled  in  front  of 
one  of  the  storage  tanks  and  the  plug  is  knocked  out  of  the  bunghole. 
Then  a  special  emptying  siphon  is  inserted.  This  device  consists  of  a 
cone-shaped  collar  threaded  to  fit  tightly,  into  the  bunghole.  Inside  of 
the  brass  collar  is  a  piece  of  1-in.  wrought-iron  pipe  of  such  length  that 
one  end  will  reach  to  the  bottom  of  the  barrel  and  the  other  extend  into 
the  top  of  the  high  storage  tank.  The  brass  collar  around  this  pipe  in- 
cludes a  gasket  so  that  when  tightened  in  place  the  barrel  is  easily  put 
under  pressure  by  attaching  a  hose  to  a  connection  in  the  side  of  the  brass 
collar.  The  shop  air  pressure  is  reduced  to  10  Ib.  for  this  use.  With  this 
device  the  following  time  is  required  to  transfer  a  barrel  of  new  material 
into  one  of  the  elevated  storage  tanks:  Turpentine,  three  minutes;  oil, 
seven  minutes;  varnish,  eight  or  nine  minutes. 

Sand-blasting  of  Cars. — The  following  method  was  devised  at  the 
Jersey  City  (N.  J.)  shops  of  the  Hudson  &  Manhattan  Railroad  for  the 
rapid  sand-blasting  of  cars.  In  fact,  this  work  is  done  at  the  rate  of  1 
sq.  ft.  per  minute.  The  equipment  includes  an  old  car  reservoir,  which  is 
filled  with  sand  and  supplied  with  air  at  85  Ib.  pressure.  Two  inlets  are 
used,  one  to  force  the  sand  down  and  the  other  to  force  it  out  of  the  tank 
at  the  bottom.  The  average  life  of  a  continuously  used  steel  nozzle  is 
about  one  day.  With  this  equipment  two  men  can  sand-blast  a  48-ft. 
car  in  eight  to  nine  hours.  The  men  who  do  this  work  under  the  present 
system  receive  respectively  $2  and  $1.75  a  day  each.  The  blasting  is 
carried  on  outside  the  shop  on  the  car-washing  track,  which  is  set  in  ce- 
ment to  permit  easy  cleaning. 

Sand-blasting  at  Syracuse. — The  sand-blast  room  at  the  Syracuse 
shops  of  the  New  York  State  Railways  is  used  for  sanding  glass  and  for 
cleaning  the  metal  parts  of  cars,  either  loose  or  on  cars  brought  part  way 


58  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

into  the  room.  The  simpler  method  as  applied  to  smaller  jobs  calls  for 
the  use  of  a  pail  of  sand  and  an  air-line  connection.  The  pail  is  suspended 
by  a  rope  from  the  roof  trusses.  The  sand  flows  through  a  hole  in  the 
bottom  of  the  pail  to  the  sand-blast  pipe,  where  its  momentum  is  acceler- 
ated by  an  80-lb.  air-line  connection.  The  operator  has  nothing  more  to 
do  than  to  steady  the  pipe  and  manipulate  the  valve  that  controls  the 
flow  of  compressed  air.  A  portable  tank  is  also  used  for  sand-blasting. 
The  first  was  operated  on  the  injector  principle  alone.  It  was  found 
necessary,  however,  to  add  an  air  line  at  the  top  of  the  tank  in  order  to 
force  the  sand  down  toward  the  injector.  There  are  three  valves  on  this 
tank;  the  top  valve  controls  the  air  which  enters  the  top;  the  second  valve 
controls  the  injector  action;  the  bottom  valve  regulates  the  flow  of 
sand. 

Cheap  Transfer  Type  Signs  on  Glass. — Instead  of  painting  or  frosting 
signs  or  rules  on  glass,  the  Montreal  Street  Railway  uses  a  process  similar 
to  that  of  the  colored  transfer  pictures  so  popular  with  children.  These 
signs  cost  only  3  cents  to  5  cents  each  and  remain  on  the  glass  despite 
any  number  of  washings.  The  materials  are  furnished  by  a  French  firm. 
Frosting  Glass  at  Syracuse. — At  the  Syracuse  shops  of  the  New  York 
State  Railways,  glass  is  frosted  in  the  following  manner:  First,  the  glass 

is  sand-blasted  to  get  a  ground  surface  and 
then  the  grounded  side  is   covered  with  a 
FROSTED  AREA  solution    of   glue    and    soda.      The   soda   is 

added  in  very  small  quantities  to   shorten 
the  glue,  namely,  to  take  out  its  elasticity. 

Frosting  glass,  Syracuse.         After  the  8lue  has  Set  SO  hard  that  H  cannot 

be  punctured  by  finger  nails  the  glass  is  set  to 

dry  in  the  drying  oven.  The  glue  will  begin  to  flake  off  immediately, 
taking  particles  of  glass  along.  The  resultant  pattern  depends  upon 
the  coarseness  of  the  sand  and  the  thickness  of  the  glue.  The  oven 
mentioned  is  of  galvanized  iron  and  for  gas  operation,  the  burner  being  set 
at  the  bottom  under  an  asbestos  shelf.  When  glass  is  to  be  frosted  a 
door  at  the  top  of  the  oven  is  opened  to  keep  the  temperature  below  110 
deg.  Fahr.  The  glass  is  carried  on  cross-pieces  which  are  adjustable 
for  any  pane  within  the  limits  of  the  oven.  On  these  cross-pieces,  the 
panes  are  placed  vertically  between  barriers  made  of  reversed  nails. 

The  following  method  is  applied  to  make  a  frosted  glass  panel  with  a 
plain  border  and  a  bevel  corner  effect :  With  ordinary  stationer's  mucilage 
a  piece  of  paper  is  pasted  over  the  portion  of  glass  to  be  left  plain,  as  indi- 
cated in  the  accompanying  drawing,  but  a  diagonal  slit  is  left  between  the 
corresponding  corners  of  the  plain  and  frosted  areas  in  order  to  obtain 
the  desired  bevel  effect.  Then  all  of  the  exposed  glass  is  sand-blasted 
and  the  glue  and  soda  solution  is  applied  over  the  same.  Upon  this,  the 


V 


PLAIN   BORDERS 
COVERED  WITH  PAPER 


CLEANSING  BY  DIPPING  OR  SAND-BLASTING 


59 


60  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

glass  is  placed  in  the  oven  and  the  job  is  completed  by  immersion  in  a  vat 
of  water  to  soak  off  the  paper. 

Gear-washing  Machine. — A  machine  for  washing  grease  and  dirt 
from  motor  and  truck  parts  was  built  at  the  shops  of  the  Chicago  Railways 
in  1911.  This  machine  is  located  in  a  covered  aisle  between  the  truck 
shop  and  the  machine  shop.  Briefly,  it  consists  of  a  large  tank  into  which 
may  be  lowered  a  steel  cage  carrying  the  parts  to  be  cleaned.  The  large 
drawing  on  page  60  shows  its  construction.  This  tank  has  brought  about 
a  substantial  economy  in  cleaning  gears,  axle  collars,  armature  heads,  gear 
cases,  journal  boxes  and  other  parts  of  trucks  and  motors.  The  dirty 
pieces  are  placed  in  the  cage  of  the  washing  machine  and  lowered  into  a 
tank  of  hot  water  into  which  one-half  barrel  of  soda  is  dumped  twice  each 
week.  The  water  in  the  tank  is  kept  hot  by  means  of  live  steam  furnished 
by  a  4-in.  main,  terminating  in  a  header  with  2-in.  branches  placed  in  the 
bottom  of  the  tank.  Steam  is  charged  into  the  cleaning  mixture 
through  rows  of  1/8-in.  holes  in  the  tops  of  the  steam  branches.  The  cage 
of  the  cleaning  machine  holds  five  tons  and  is  discharged  once  each  hour. 
As  the  dirty  castings  are  removed  from  the  hot  soda  mixture  they  are 
swabbed  with  a  broom. 

The  steel  tank  which  holds  the  cleaning  mixture  has  inside  dimensions 
of  15  ft.X4  ft.  2  1/2  in.  It  is  3  ft.  3  in.  deep  and  is  made  from  3/8-in. 
plates  riveted  to  channel  irons  and  angles.  The  cage  in  which  the  parts 
to  be  cleaned  are  placed  for  lowering  into  the  tank  also  is  built  of  struc- 
tural steel.  It  weighs  1800  Ib.  and  is  designed  to  carry  a  load  of  10,000  Ib. 
This  cage  is  raised  and  lowered  by  means  of  a  10-h.p.  motor  and  a  link 
belt  transmission  which  includes  a  band  brake  to  control  the  lowering, 
which  is  done  by  gravity.  The  cage  has  a  lifting  speed  of  20  ft.  per 
minute. 

This  washing  machine  and  its  operating  mechanism  are  installed  on  a 
large  concrete  foundation  so  arranged  that  the  washing  tank  extends  but 
16  in.  above  the  floor.  A  concrete  pit  in  front  of  the  tank  covered  with 
iron  grating  receives  the  dripping  from  the  castings  as  they  are  removed 
from  the  tank.  This  pit,  which  is  3  1/2  ft.  wide  and  4  ft.  deep,  also 
makes  the  lower  part  of  the  washing  tank  easily  accessible.  Sheet-iron 
covers  for  the  top  of  the  tank  are  provided  to  close  it  tightly  when  castings 
are  being  cleaned.  A  sheet-steel  hood  and  stack  have  been  placed  above 
the  tank  to  carry  away  the  fumes. 


VI 
SANDERS  AND  SANDING  DEVICES,  SCRAPERS,  BROOMS 

A  Removable  Sand  Hopper. — As  a  substitute  for  a  sand  hopper  under 
the  car  seats,  the  Fishkill  (N.  Y.)  Electric  Railway  uses  a  substantial 
flat-bottom  galvanized  iron  fire  pail.  In  the  bottom  near  the  periphery  is 
cut  a  2-in.  round  hole  which  registers  with  a  cast-iron  mouth-piece  fast- 
ened on  the  bottom  with  stone  bolts.  This  mouth-piece  fits  into  the  pipe 
leading  down  through  the  car  floor  to  the  sand  valve  and  track  spout.  A 
wooden  plug  fastened  to  the  pail  with  a  chain  is  used  to  close  this  hole 
in  the  bottom  and  it  is  withdrawn  when  the  pail  is  in  place  over  the  sand 
valve.  A  number  of  pails  filled  with  sand  are  kept  on  hand  around  the 
sand-drying  stone  and  when  a  pail  on  a  car  is  emptied  it  is  lifted  off  and 
replaced  by  a  full  pail.  The  object  in  attaching  the  spout  eccentrically  is 
to  permit  the  spout  to  be  inserted  in  the  sand  valve  pipe  and  then  to  turn 
the  pail  around  under  the  seat  where  it  is  out  of  the  way.  The  steep 
grades  on  the  lines  of  the  Fishkill  Electric  Railway  make  it  necessary  'to 
use  sand  on  both  rails  and  no  failures  of  this  simple  device  have  been 
recorded. 

Air  Sander  on  Interurban  Cars. — A.  C.  Adams,  superintendent 
motive  power  Oregon  Electric  Railway  &  United  Railways,  has  designed 
and  had  in  operation  since  1912  on  all  of  their  passenger  motor  cars  the 
simple  and  efficient  air  sand  rigging  which  is  shown  in  the  accompanying 
illustrations  on  pages  62  and  63. 

A  large  sand  box  made  of  No.  14  iron  and  having  a  sloping  bottom  is 
provided  in  the  cab  or  vestibule  of  the  car.  The  sand  drops  by  gravity 
from  the  sand  box  through  a  1  1/4-in.  iron  pipe  into  a  trap  made  of  a 
1  1/4-in.  X  1-in.  standard  pipe  cross  which  is  closed  on  the  bottom  with  a 
1  1/4-in.  pipe  plug.  Should  the  trap  become  clogged  the  plug  can  be 
easily  removed.  Air  is  admitted  to  the  trap  from  the  whistle  pipe  through 
a  1/4-in.  pipe  into  a  horizontal  nozzle  which  extends  about  three-fourths 
of  the  way  through  the  trap  and  at  right  angles  to  the  drop  of  the  sand. 
The  admission  of  air  is  controlled  by  a  globe  valve  close  to  the  motorman's 
brake  valve.  From  the  trap  the  sand  is  blown  through  a  1-in.  pipe  which 
connects  to  a  1  1/8-in.  air  hose  36  in.  long,  providing  for  the  swing  of  the 
truck.  The  bottom  end  of  the  hose  has  a  nipple  which  connects  through 
a  street  ell  into  a  1-in.  X  1-in.  pipe  cross,  where  the  sand  is  separated  by 
means  of  a  wedge-shaped  plug  in  the  bottom  of  the  cross.  The  separated 

61 


62 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


sand  goes  to  each  leading  wheel  through  1-in.  pipes  which  are  bent  to 
deliver  sand  to  the  rails  directly  ahead  of  the  wheels.  The  pipes  to  the 
wheels  are  securely  fastened  to  the  truck  frame. 

The  rigging  is  made  up  in  the  company's  shops,  as  all  the  material 
which  enters  into  the  construction  is  easily  available  in  any  shop  of  moder- 
ate size  and  it  can  easily  be  put  together  by  ordinary  mechanics. 

In  the  entire  time  that  it  has  been  in  operation  not  a  single  case  has 
occurred  where  sand  did  not  flow  freely  to  rails.  An  over  supply  of  sand 
cannot  feed  into  the  trap,  nor  has  any  trouble  been  experienced  from  sand 
blowing  back  into  the  sand  box.  Good  sharp,  clean  sand  is  used,  and 
any  moisture  therein  is  thoroughly  removed  by  means  of  a  sand  dryer 
at  the  Portland  shops. 


H    W.I. AIR  PIPE   TO  SAND    TRAP 

Air-sanding  equipment,  Oregon  electric  railway. 


Simple  Sanding  Device  at  Rochester. — The  Rochester  (N.  Y.)  lines 
of  the  New  York  State  Railways  have  equipped  a  number  of  their  new 
cars  with  the  simple  sanding  device  shown  in  the  upper  view  on  page  64. 
Sand  boxes  are  provided  under  four  of  the  cross  seats  of  each  car 
and  an  outlet  is  provided  in  front  of  each  driving  wheel,  the  car  being 
designed  for  single-end  operation.  Each  sand  box  is  equipped  with  an 
air-tight  cover  so  that  sand  will  not  be  blown  into  the  car  even  if  the  sand 
pipe  should  become  stopped  up.  Malleable-iron  castings  are  bolted  to 
the  boxes  below  the  floor,  their  form  being  like  that  of  a  sewer-pipe  trap, 
and  air  is  discharged  into  the  sand  at  the  bend  of  the  trap.  The  sand 
pipe  is  carried  on  the  truck  frame,  and  it  is  connected  to  the  trap  by  a 
length  of  hose.  It  thus  assures  the  delivery  of  sand  on  the  rail  at  the  point 


SANDERS  AND  SANDING  DEVICES,  SCRAPERS,  BROOMS         63 


a, 

c3 

•s 

I 

bfi 


64 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


Sanding  device,  Rochester. 


SLIDE  TO  BE  RAISED  TO 
CLEAR  SCREEN  OF  COARSE 
SAND 


Section  of  sand-drying  plant,  Lincoln. 


SANDERS  AND  SANDING  DEVICES,  SCRAPERS,  BROOMS          65 


of  contact  of  the  wheel  regardless  of  the  alignment  of  the  body  with  the 
trucks.  The  design  is  due  to  G.  M.  Cameron,  master  mechanic  at 
Rochester. 

A  Novel  Sand -drying  Plant. — The  operating  department  of  the 
Lincoln  (Neb.)  Traction  Company  has  built  a  novel  sand-drying  plant 
which  is  applicable  to  large  or  small  railways.  A  wooden  bin  has  been 
constructed  in  one  of  the  carhouses  to  hold  one  car  of  sand.  The  sand  is 
thrown  into  this  bin  by  hand  from  cars  alongside.  The  sides  are  sloped 
at  an  angle  of  45  deg.  to  hoppers  at  one  side  of  the  bottom.  These 
hoppers,  when  opened,  allow  the  sand  to  flow  onto  the  dryer  beds,  which 
slope  at  30  deg.  from  the  horizontal.  Each  dryer  bed  is  a  6-ft.  square 


NOTE:  ALL  SCRAPER  HINGES  AND  BRACES 
TO  OPERATE  ON  LIFE  GUARD  PIVOT 
ROD  WITH  %"PLAY,  INSURING  FREE 
MOTION  OF  FEN  DEB 


X  X13/16   X  I'M     CHAIN 
TO  OPERATING  HANDLE 


OPERATING  HANDLE 
TO  LOWER  SCRAPERS  TO  RAILS 
HANDLE  IS  PULLED  UP  TO  A 
180°  POSITION  FROM  START 


STRAIGHT-LINK  CHAIN 


W/16  X 


RAISED  SUB  PLATFORM 
S  SffH          /CAR   PLATFORM   FLOOR  LINE         PIATFORM  KNEE 


ROD  TO  BE-TIED  IN  CENTER  TO  AIR        LIFE  GUARD 
PIPE  WITH  SLACK  GUIDE  CHAIN 

LIFE  GUARD  PIVOT^ 
RAIL  LINE        | 


Snow  scraper  for  limited  clearance,  Buffalo. 

screen  with  12-in.  side  boards.  Nine  four-pipe  coils  with  branch  tees  are 
set  on  the  dryer  bed.  These  coils  are  arranged  in  parallel  rows  so  that 
the  sand  may  flow  or  be  raked  between  them  as.  it  comes  from  the  storage 
bin  overhead.  When  the  steam  is  turned  on,  the  drying  sand  falls  to 
dry-sand  bins  underneath  the  screen,  and  the  coarse  material  rolls  to  the 
foot  of  the  sloped  dryer  bed,  where  it  is  deposited  in  another  bin  after  all 
the  fine  sand  has  passed  through  the  screen. 

Another  novel  feature  in  connection  with  the  car  sand-drying  plant 
is  the  method  of  distributing  it  for  use  on  the  cars.  A  supply  of  car  sand 
is  available  at  several  points  on  the  property,  and  in  order  to  reduce  the 


66 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


cost  of  handling  to  a  minimum  it  is  shoveled  into  old  cement  sacks  at  the 
dryer  and  delivered  to  the  supply  points.  After  the  sacks  have  been 
emptied  directly  into  the  sand  boxes  on  the  cars  they  are  returned  to  the 
dryer  for  refilling.  The  outfit  is  shown  on  page  64. 

Snow  Scraper  for  Limited  Clearance  Space. — The  International 
Railway  Company,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  purchased  in  1913  nearly  300  near- 
side cars,  which  were  fitted  with  scrapers  designed  in  the  mechanical 
department  of  the  company.  The  clearance  between  the  pony  wheels 
of  the  forward  truck  and  the  backs  of  the  life  guards  was  too  small  in 
these  cars  to  accommodate  the  usual  design  of  scraper.  The  one  shown 
in  the  illustration  on  page  65  was,  therefore,  manufactured  in  the 
company's  shops,  placed  on  all  of  the  near-side  cars  and  is  giving  excellent 
satisfaction.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  foundation  of  the  rigging  is  a 
1  1/2-in.  X3/4-in.  steel  cross-bar  with  bent  ends.  To  this  are  bolted  the 
hinges,  which  are  forged  from  2  1/2-in.  X3/4-in.  steel,  and  the  renewable 
5/16-in.  steel  rubbing  plates.  The  hinges  hook  over  the  life-guard  pivot 
rod  and  are  held  in  place  by  cotter  pins.  The  rubbing  plates  are  raised 
and  lowered  by  means  of  a  chain  attached  to  the  middle  of  the  cross-bar. 
After  passing  over  idler  pulleys,  the  chain  terminates  in  an  operating 
handle  conveniently  located  back  of  the  front  dash. 


'A'! 


BASE  BOLTED  TO  TABLE  OF  BEARING  MACHINE 

— 4'534~-- 


Jig  for  boring  holes  in  center  boards  for  rattan  sweeper   brooms,  Syracuse. 

Jig  for  Boring  Sweeper  Broom  Centers. — A  simple  jig  for  use  in  boring 
holes  in  broom  centers  for  rattan  broom  snow  sweepers  has  been  used 
effectively  in  the  Wolf  Street  shops  of  the  New  York  State  Railways  at 
Syracuse.  It  is  made  up  with  a  base  fastened  on  the  table  of  the  boring 
machine  and  a  sliding  carriage  in  which  the  broom  center  is  clamped. 
The  base  consists  of  a  1-in.  board  on  the  sides  of  which  two  1-in.  strips 
1  3/8  in.  wide  are  screwed,  leaving  a  guide-way  for  the  1-in.  carriage  base. 
On  top  of  the  side  strips  and  projecting  over  the  carriage  base  are  two 
saw-tooth  racks. 

A  frame  is  mounted  above  the  carriage  base  on  heavy  wood  blocks. 


SANDERS  AND  SANDING  DEVICES,  SCRAPERS,  BROOMS          67 

Iron  plates  project  downward  from  the  ends  of  the  frame  and  rock  on 
bolts  which  extend  through  the  blocks.  The  frame  is  shown  in  plan  with 
the  broom  center  removed  in  the  upper  view  of  the  illustration.  The 
lower  view  shows  the  broom  center  in  position  in  the  frame.  The  broom 
center  is  carried  on  screw  center  points  which,  when  set  up  against  the 
ends  of  the  broom  center,  clamp  it  in  the  frame  and  the  frame  in  one 
position  at  the  same  time. 

On  the  sliding  base  is  a  ratchet  block  carrying  two  ratchet  springs, 
one  on  each  side,  their  ends  bearing  on  the  saw-tooth  racks.  The  teeth 
of  these  racks  are  spaced  apart  a  distance  equal  to  that  desired  between 
holes  in  each  row  in  the  board.  The  springs  may  be  raised  by  means  of  a 
cam  operated  by  a  rod  and  handle.  One  side  of  the  frame  is  notched  out 
to  clear  this  cam  rod. 

The  operation  of  the  jig  consists  in  clamping  the  broom  center  in  the 
frame.  The  carriage  is  then  pushed  to  the  extreme  position  at  the  right 
and  the  springs  are  released.  The  carriage  is  then  pulled  back  to  the  left 
notch  by  notch.  After  a  row  of  holes  has  been  bored  the  broom  center  is 
rotated  through  an  angle  corresponding  to  the  desired  distance  between 
rows  and  the  operation  is  repeated.  The  jig  has  reduced  what  was  for- 
merly a  very  tedious  operation  to  a  very  simple  one. 

Rattan  Broom-filling  Machine  at  Milwaukee. — In  order  to  replace 
rotary  brooms  quickly  and  economically  in  the  sweepers  used  by  The 
Milwaukee  Electric  Railway  &  Light  Company,  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  the 
mechanical  department  of  this  road  has  designed  and  built  an  efficient 
rattan  broom-filling  machine.  The  machine  consists  essentially  of  a 
structural-steel  frame  12  ft.  long,  a  length  sufficient  to  permit  filling  an 
8-ft.  sweeper  segment  at  one  time,  and  10  ft.  in  height,  which  places  the 
work  at  a  convenient  elevation.  Two  standard  10-in.  Xl2-in.  brake 
cylinders,  which  are  mounted  on  the  upper  portion  of  the  frame  and  to 
which  two  bars  are  attached,  furnish  the  pressure  necessary  to  force  the 
outer  core  and  rattan  into  position  in  the  U-shaped  inner  core.  These 
when  bolted  together  form  a  sweeper  segment. 

Just  below  the  pressure  bars  is  a  table  provided  with  a  limit  gage  on 
one  side  and  a  slot  formed  with  a  Z-bar  and  angle  on  the  other  side.  This 
slot  receives  the  outer  core,  which  is  a  U-shaped  sheet-steel  form  with 
holes  for  bolts  at  uniform  intervals.  Hook  bolts  hung  on  the  pressure  bar 
guide  the  inner  wooden  core  into  position  so  that  bolts  may  be  inserted 
both  through  the  outer  and  the  inner  cores  when  they,  with  the  rattan, 
have  been  forced  into  permanent  position.  Four  small  spiral  springs 
attached  to  the  frame  and  pressure  bars  return  them  to  the  upper  position 
when  the  air  is  released  from  the  cylinder.  Air  for  the  pressure  cylinders 
is  supplied  from  the  shop  compressed-air  system  at  90  Ib.  per  square  inch. 
A  view  of  the  machine  is  shown  in  the  illustration. 


68  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

The  process  of  filling  a  rotary  broom  segment,  of  which  eight  are 
required  on  each  broom,  consists  in  first  placing  the  outer  U-shaped  core 
in  the  slot  and  then  placing  strips  of  thoroughly  steamed  rattan  on  the 
table  as  closely  together  as  they  can  be  conveniently  laid  with  one  end 
against  the  limit  gage.  After  a  sufficient  number  of  rattan  strips  have 
been  placed  for  a  4-ft.  or  an  8-ft.  segment  and  the  inner  wood  core  has 
been  clamped  temporarily  in  position  so  that  the  hook  bolts  may  be 
passed  through  the  holes  in  both  outer  and  inner  cores,  the  temporary 


Rattan  broom-filling  machine,  Milwaukee. 

clamps  are  removed  and  the  inner  core  is  lowered  to  the  rattan.  The 
air  valves  are  then  opened  at  one  or  both  cylinders  as  required,  which 
lowers  the  pressure  bar  until  the  outer  and  inner  cores  with  the  rattan 
between  them  are  forced  into  position.  Bolts  are  then  passed  through 
both  and  pulled  up  tight,  and  next  the  air  is  released  from  the  cylinders, 
allowing  the  pressure  bar  to  return  to  the  normal  position.  The  re- 
moval of  the  hook  bolts  then  permits  the  finished  broom  segment  to 
be  removed.  The  whole  process  requires  about  twenty  minutes,  but 
when  it  was  done  by  hand  the  same  work  used  to  require  about  two 
hours. 


VII 


LUBRICATION 

Capillary  Oiler. — When  the  oiled  waste  in  the  armature-shaft  oil  cups 
is  replaced  by  the  Cincinnati  capillary  oiler  illustrated  the  quantity  of  oil 
required  is  materially  reduced  and  heated  bearings  are  practically  un- 
known. The  capillary  oiler  consists  of  a  gray  cast-iron  shell  the  details 
of  which  are  shown.  Plain  motor  oil  is  supplied  to  the  reservoir,  and 
the  wick  is  manufactured  from  the  best  quality  of  worsted  yarn.  The 
reservoir  end  of  the  wick  is  held  in  the  oil  by  a  lead  weight,  and  the  other 
end  is  forced  through  the  oil-feed  duct  to  the  bearing  area  by  a  short 
piece  of  twisted  copper  wire.  The  copper  wire 
also  acts  as  a  conductor  of  heat  from  the  bearing 
to  the  oil,  thus  eliminating  the  oil  coagulation 
which  might  be  expected  in  the  duct. 

Oxy-acetylene  Process  for  Changing  Grease 
to  Oil  Lubrication. — A  perplexing  problem  for  the 
users  of  the  old  grease-cup  motors  is  to  adapt 
them  for  proper  oil  lubrication.  The  Hartford 
shops  of  the  Connecticut  Company  have  accom- 
plished this  desirable  change  on  GE-800  motors 
by  using  the  oxy-acetylene  welding  process  for 
closing  the  bottom  of  the  large  grease  openings  in 
the  armature  and  axle  bearings.  After  the  weld- 
ing was  completed  a  hole  was  drilled  in  the  bot- 
tom for  the  insertion  of  a  wick  which  is  soaked 

with  oil.     This  method  gives  far  better  lubrication  than  was  formerly 
obtained  by  using  grease  and  felt. 

Oil  Box  for  Grease -type  Motors. — The  Virginia  Railway  &  Power 
Company,  Richmond,  Va.,  still  operates  some  GE-57  and  GE-67  motors, 
which  were  designed  originally  for  grease  lubrication.  It  has  been  found 
possible,  however,  to  use  oil  and  wool  waste  packing  with  much  greater 
satisfaction  and  economy  by  installing  oil  boxes  of  the  design  shown  in 
the  accompanying  drawing.  The  box  is  riveted  to  the  motor  frame  and 
has  a  spring  cover  which  effectively  excludes  dust.  Oil  cups  of  this  type 
have  been  applied  to  the  armature  bearings  of  all  motors  of  the  above 
types,  resulting  in  substantial  increase  in  the  life  of  the  bearings  and 
fewer  hot  and  melted  bearings,  due  to  the  better  lubrication  obtained. 

69 


Capillary  oiler, 
Cincinnati. 


70 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


Oil  box  for  grease-type  motor,  Richmond. 


SECTION  A-B-C 


SECTION   A-B-C-D 
DETAIL  OF  IRON  COVER 


SPRING  MARK  C 


FIG.  1.  —  Oil  cup  for  axle  cap,  commutator  end,  West.  81  motor,  Brooklyn* 


LUBRICATION 


71 


Before  putting  these  oil  boxes  on  the  GE-57  motors  the  company  ex- 
perienced a  great  deal  of  trouble  with  bearings  on  account  of  water  getting 
into  the  armature  boxes,  and  it  was  necessary  to  drain  the  oil  wells  after 
any  considerable  spell  of  wet  weather.  The  application  of  these  oil  cups 
has  entirely  done  away  with  this  trouble. 

Integral  Oil  Cups  in  Brooklyn. — The  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  Com- 
pany still  uses  a  large  number  of  motors  which  originally  were  made  for 
grease  lubrication.  The  attempt  to  use  oil  cups  in  these  motors  has  not 
been  entirely  successful,  as  the  grease  cavities  in  the  frames  were  too 


MAUL. IRON  COVER 


SECTION  B-E 

SECTIONS  THROUGH 

ARMATURE   BEARING  HOUSING 

PINION    &  COMMUTATOR   ENDS 


SECTION  A-A 


SECTIONS  THROUGH 

AXLE  CAP 

PINION    &   COMMUTATOR    ENDS 


FIG.  2. — Babbitted  oil  cups  for  No.  81  motor,  Brooklyn. 

irregular  to  allow  a  tight  fit.  Hence  many  cups  were  lost  by  being 
thrown  out  of  the  frame  when  the  trucks  passed  over  special  work  or 
rough  spots  in  the  line.  Another  difficulty  with  the  cups  was  the  fact 
that  they  had  a  needle  valve  to  control  the  feed.  Frequently  these 
valves  would  stick  and  thereby  cause  the  loss  of  armatures.  To  over- 
come these  troubles  the  mechanical  department  of  this  company  has 
adopted  an  oil  receptacle  which  is  a  part  of  the  motor  frame.  It  is  made 
in  two  forms  as  shown  in  the  drawings.  Fig.  1  on  page  70  shows  the 


72 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


construction  when  the  oiling  method  is  embodied  in  a  new  axle  cap  cast- 
ing, while  Fig.  2  shows  how  armature  bearing  and  axle  castings  can  be 
turned  into  oiling  cups  by  babbitting.  In  both  patterns  the  oil  is  fed 
through  a  wick-filled  spindle.  Fig.  3  shows  a  later  oil-post  improvement 
as  applied  to  the  West.  81  motor.  The  post  is  now  built  in  two  parts  to 
permit  the  wicking  to  be  inserted  before  installation  in  the  oil  cup. 
Ninety-two  strands  4  in.  long  are  placed  in  each  hole  for  the  armature 
bearings  and  112  strands  4  in.  long  are  placed  in  each  hole  for  the  axle 
bearings.  The  brass  casting  into  which  the  feeder  post  is  screwed  is 
babbitted  into  the  bottom  of  the  cup.  The  dimensions  shown  are  not 


h  HEXAGONAL 
IRON 


FIG.  3. — Revised  oil  feed  attachment  for  motor  bearings  with  babbitted  oil  cups, 

Brooklyn. 

always  the  same,  as  this  construction  is  also  used  on  Westinghouse  68 
and  81  and  on  GE-57  motors.  The  covers  of  all  oil  boxes  are  similar, 
being  made  of  malleable  iron  with  a  leather  gasket  to  insure  the  exclusion 
of  dust  when  the  jam  nut  is  tightened.  The  receptacles  are  filled  with 
oil  after  raising  a  1-in.  flat  spring  in  the  cover.  These  oil  boxes  replace 
the  independent  oil  cups  used  on  the  GE-57,  GE-64,  Westinghouse  68 
and  Westinghouse  81  motors  operated  under  the  surface  passenger  cars. 

Lubrication  in  Brooklyn. — The  following  lubrication  instructions  are 
in  vogue  on  the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  System  to  supplement  an  oil 
standardization  chart. 

"In  lubricating  Westinghouse  No.  68  and  No.  81,  or  other  motors 
equipped  with  babbitted  oil  cups,  enough  oil  is  to  be  added  to  fill  cups  to 
within  1/2  in.  of  the  top.  In  removable  type  cups  on  General  Electric 
No.  57  or  other  type  motors,  add  enough  oil  to  make  cup  half  full. 

"All  shops  will  burn  their  oily  waste  in  heating  plant  boilers  during 
winter  months  when  boilers  are  in  operation.  At  all  other  times  they 
will  send  the  waste  away  in  cans  on  the  rubbish-collection  car,  to  be 
burned  at  the  incinerator  plant.  Under  no  circumstances  is  waste  to  be 


LUBRICATION 


73 


burned  in  the  blacksmith  forges  or  inside  of  the  shop  buildings  of  any 
shop." 

Improvements  in  the  Lubrication  of  Elevated  Motors. — The  motor 
equipment  of  the  elevated  divisions  of  the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit 
System  is  made  up  chiefly  of  eighty  Westinghouse  50-B,  170  type  50-E, 


BLACK  GRAIN  LEATHER  G 


BILL  OF  MATERIAL 

NO.OF 
PIECES 

MARK 

DESCRIPTION 

MATERIAL 

A 

CAP 

CAST  STEEL 

B 

COVER 

MALL    IRON 

C 

LATCH 

MALL    IRON 

D 

PIN  FOR  COVER 

STEEL 

E 

PIN  FOR  LATCH 

STEEL 

F 

SPLIT  PfN.Vi'e'oiA. 

COPPER 

G 

WASHER 

BLACK  GRAIN  LEATHER 

H 

FLAT  HO.  RIVETS 

STEEL 

1 

OVAL  HD.  RIVETS 

STEEL 

J 

FLAT  SPRING 

STEEL 

K 

COIL  SPRING 

STEEL 

'       C.L.  OF  AXLE 

SECTION  ON  B-B 


No.  81  motor  axle  cap,  capillary  type,  pinion  end,  Brooklyn. 

876  type  50-L  and  202  type  300.  The  first  three  types  are  106  h.p.  each 
and  the  last  of  200-h.p.  capacity.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  that 
the  50-L  motor  comprises  about  two-thirds  of  the  active  passenger  equip- 
ment. For  this  reason,  the  improved  lubrication  of  this  motor  as  here- 
inafter described  has  been  one  of  the  most  important  influences  in  the 


74 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


reduction  of  the  cost  of  lubrication  on  the  elevated  lines  from  27  cents 
in  November,  1907,  to  11  cents  per  1000  car  miles  in  June,  1912.  The 
50-B  and  50-E  motors,  which  are  substantially  alike,  have  also  had  their 
oiling  system  improved.  The  No.  300  commutating  pole  motor,  how- 
ever, has  remained  unaltered  because  it  has  given  satisfactory  service 
and  low  lubricating  costs  ever  since  its  installation. 


T~*~n 


No.  81  motor  axle  cap,  capillary  type,  commutator  end,  Brooklyn. 

In  September,  1910,  after  a  study  extending  over  two  years,  the 
mechanical  department  undertook  a  complete  change  in  the  lubrication 
of  the  No.  50-L  motor.  This  design  had  given  much  trouble  from  hot 
armature  bearings  owing  to  lack  of  oil  at  the  pinion  end  bearing,  a  con- 
dition which  was  due  to  the  extreme  length  of  3  in.  from  the  opening 
for  the  waste  in  the  bearing  to  the  pinion  end  of  the  bearing.  Different 
types  of  oil-ways  had  been  previously  tried  but  without  success.  The 
first  change  was  to  drill  a  1-in.  hole  in  the  under  side  of  the  bearing  with 


LUBRICATION 


75 


its  center  1  in.  from  the  end  of  the  bearing.  Then,  as  shown  in  one  of 
the  accompanying  views,  a  piece  of  1-in.  X4-in.  round  felt  was  placed 
in  this  hole,  and  the  bottom  of  the  felt  was  immersed  in  the  drip  oil 
which  collects  in  a  receptacle  in  the  bottom  of  the  housing.  By  capillary 

attraction,  this  felt  feeds  the  oil  over 
again  to  the  end  of  the  bearing,  thus 
keeping  it  properly  lubricated.  The 
pinion  end  bearing  was  also  shortened 
1/4  in.  and  a  felt  washer  1/4  in.  thick 
X  1  1/2  in.  wide  was  installed  between 
the  bearing  and  the  inside  end  of  the 
housing  to  prevent  gear  grease  from 
getting  into  the  bearing  and  clogging 
the  oil  passage.  This  change  as 
shown  in  the  same  illustrations  has 
practically  eliminated  trouble  from 
hot  bearings.  A  third  change  was  in 
the  location  of  the  drip  hole.  The 
old  drip  hole  in  the  back  end  of  the 
housing  was  about  11/4  in.  from  the 
bottom.  This  hole  was  plugged  and 
replaced  by  another  of  the  same  size 
but  drilled  1  in.  higher  to  allow  a 
greater  depth  of  oil  in  the  waste  oil 
receptacle. 

In  the  original  design  of  the  No. 

50-L  motor,  no  means  had  been  provided  for  measuring  the  amount  of 
oil  in  the  lower  part  of  the  housing.  Consequently,  all  the  oiler  could  do 
was  to  pour  the  lubricant  on  top  of  the  waste.  As  the  motor  was  usually 
warm  at  the  time,  the  oil  would  pass  through  the  waste  to  the  armature 
shaft  and  out  between  the  shaft  and 
the  bearings  to  the  gear  case  or  to 
atmosphere.  To  eliminate  this  trou- 
ble, a  1-in.  hole,  as  indicated  in  the 
accompanying  drawing,  was  drilled  in 
the  blank  side  (or  side  opposite  the 
waste)  of  the  housing,  thus  affording 
a  gage  for  measuring  the  depth  of  oil 
at  times  and  a  well  for  holding  addi- 
tional oil  as  needed.  The  oil  runs  down  the  blank  side  of  the  housing 
to  a  partition  which  contains  a  hole  through  which  the  waste  can 
draw  the  oil. 

The  changes  in  the  50-B  and  50-E  motors  were  not  so  radical  as  in 


Oil  hole  drilled  in  housing  of  West. 
50-L  motor,  Brooklyn. 


Split-felt  feed  for  West.  50-L  motor, 
Brooklyn. 


76 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


the  50-L,  but  they  were  equally  effective.  Unlike  the  50-L,  these  motors 
are  felt-lubricated.  In  the  original  design,  a  single  piece  of  felt,  1  in. 
thick  X  6  1/4  in.  long  X  5  in.  wide,  extended  from  the  oil  well  to  the 
armature  bearing.  It  was  thought  the  oil  would  pass  to  the  bearing 
by  capillary  attraction,  but  it  was  found  the  the  oil  supply  was  inter- 
rupted by  the  spring  pressure  of  the  nine-pronged  fork  which  held  the 
felt  in  place.  The  removal  of  some  of  the  prongs  would  have  done  little 
good  so  long  as  the  pressure  of  the  fork  was  exerted  against  the  oil- 
carrying  felt.  Relief  was  finally  obtained  in  the  following  manner: 
The  felt  was  cut  in  half  in  a  horizontal  plane  and  the  upper  half  slit  length- 
wise up  to  within  2  in.  of  the  armature  bearing,  except  that  the  base  of 
the  slit  was  cut  to  make  a  hole  of  2-in.  diameter  to  permit  the  insertion 


Felt  feed  and  washer,  West.  50-L  motor;  babbitted  oil  cups  in  axle  cap  casting  cover  for 
same  and  discarded  independent  cup  of  West.  81  motor,  Brooklyn. 

of  the  fork  at  the  crotch  made  in  the  felt.  As  shown  in  the  lower 
illustration  on  page  75,  the  felt  is  now  kept  in  place  by  having  the 
prongs  bear  against  the  lower  half  only,  while  the  slitted  upper  pieces, 
which  are  overlapped  on  the  fork,  are  free  to  carry  the  oil  from  the  well 
to  the  bearing.  The  specially  selected  felt  used  for  this  purpose  is 
furnished  in  strips  1  in.  thick  and  60  in.  to  72  in.  wide. 

Changes  in  the  Lubrication  of  Surface  Motors. — During  1910  the 
Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  System  began  to  install  the  integral  or  babbitted 
oil  cup,  previously  described,  to  replace  the  independent  oil  cups  of  the 
GE-57,  GE-64,  Westinghouse  68  and  Westinghouse  81  motors.  The 
independent  oil  cups  were  not  entirely  satisfactory  as  many  of  them 
were  shaken  out  of  the  grease  cavities  on  account  of  vibration,  etc., 
while  the  use  of  a  needle  valve  to  control  the  feed  sometimes  failed  to 
give  lubrication  through  the  gumming  of  the  oil.  An  accompanying 
illustration  of  the  axle  cap  casting  of  the  Westinghouse  81  motor  shows 
the  babbitted  cavity,  which  was  originally  1  1/2X2  in.  in  size,  and  also 


LUBRICATION 


77 


a  specimen  of  the  discarded  oil  cup.     The  enlarged  hole  for  the  babbitted 
cups  is  obtained  by  chipping  out  the  motor  shell  with  an  air  hammer. 

A  number  of  additional  improvements  were  made  in  the  No.  81  motors 
following  its  transfer  from  the  elevated  to  the  surface  lines.  As  1820 
motors  of  this  design  are  in  use,  it  is  the  most  widely  employed  type  on 
the  system.  One  change,  as  shown  in  an  accompanying  illustration  of 
old  and  new  designs,  was  to  remove  from  the  armature  bearing  a  rib 
which  had  proved  very  troublesome  because  it  pulled  the  felt  feed  away 
from  the  shaft.  A  second  change  was  to  chamfer  the  holes  in  the  com- 
mutator and  pinion  end  bearings  at  the  top  to  aid  the  oil  in  going  more 
directly  to  the  bearing.  The  bottom  holes  at  both  the  pinion  and 
commutator  ends  were  also  enlarged  so  that  the  felt  would  not  be  caught. 


Old  ribbed  and  new  ribless  armature  bearing  of  West.  81  motor;  chamfered  holes 
of  West.  81  motor,  commutator  and  pinion  end  bearings;  armature  bearings  of  the 
West.  50-B  (and  50-E)  motor  and  of  the  West.  50-L  motors,  respectively,  Brooklyn. 


A  further  step  in  progress  of  increasing  lubrication  efficiency  on 
motors  originally  designed  for  grease  feed  is  shown  in  the  axle  cap  draw- 
ings. These  axle  caps  have  been  designed  to  be,  as  nearly  as  possible, 
the  same  in  principle  as  oil  well  housings  on  modern  type  motors.  The 
sections  show  the  arrangement  for  measuring  the  amount  of  oil  in  the 
cups.  These  caps  are  installed  as  it  becomes  necessary  to  replace  those 
of  the  original  designs  and  they  will  eventually  be  placed  on  all  Westing- 
house  No.  81  motors. 

Keeping  Oil  Warm. — In  the  Denver  &  Interurban  Railway,  the  car- 
house  adjoins  the  power  station  and  an  ingenious  method  is  followed 
in  keeping  the  lubricating  oil  warm  in  winter.  The  oil  tank  is  surrounded 
by  a  box  in  which  is  a  coil  pipe  supplied  by  steam  from  the  power  station 
so  that  the  temperature  of  the  oil  when  taken  from  the  pump  is  about 
90  deg.  In  consequence  the  company  can  use  a  heavy  cylinder  oil  in 
its  armature  boxes. 

Keeping  Oil  Warm  at  Hartford. — A  feature  of  the  lubrication  practice 
at  the  Hartford  shops  of  the  Connecticut  Company  is  that  the  day's 
supply  of  car  oils  is  kept  in  the  shops  in  a  metal-lined  box,  which  during 


78 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


cold  weather  is  heated  by  a  bank  of  incandescent  lamps  attached  to  the 
inner  side  of  the  cover. 

Oil  Economy  at  New  Orleans. — At  each  of  the  carhouses  of  the  New 
Orleans  Railway  &  Light  Company  a  journal  box  waste-soaking  and 
draining  tank  has  been  installed  in  order  to  save  lubricating  oil.  The 
tanks  are  made  of  galvanized  sheet  steel  and  are  fitted  with  tight  covers. 
Each  tank  is  provided  with  a  draining  basket  into  which  the  supply  of 
oil-soaked  waste  for  immediate  use  is  placed  until  the  excess  oil  has 
been  drained  out.  A  supply  of  waste  sufficient  to  last  a  week  is  stored 
in  the  bottom  of  the  tank  under  the  oil  and  allowed  to  remain  there  at 
least  forty-eight  hours. 


Oil  reclaiming  tank,  Washington,  Balti- 
more and  Annapolis  railway. 


Siphon  head  for  oil  barrels,  Western 
Ohio  railroad. 


Oil  Reclaiming  Tank. — The  accompanying  drawing  shows  a  com- 
pressor oil  reclaiming  tank  which  was  built  by  the  Washington,  Baltimore 
&  Annapolis  Railway  in  line  with  suggestions  made  by  the  lubricating 
contractor.  The  railway  has  also  devised  two  steam-heated  soaking 
tanks  for  reclaiming  waste  and  draining  car  oil. 

A  Siphon  for  Emptying  Oil  Barrels. — For  use  on  the  Western  Ohio 
Railroad  a  novel  device  has  been  developed  for  the  purpose  of  trans- 
ferring oil  and  other  liquids  from  barrels  to  storage  tanks.  In  brief,  the 
device  consists  of  a  siphon  head  which  is  screwed  into  the  bunghole  of 
an  oil  barrel  and  through  which  a  piece  of  pipe  is  extended  to  the  bottom 
of  the  barrel.  A  small  hole  in  the  siphon  head  is  connected  to  a  com- 
pressed-air supply,  and  the  air  pressure  thus  established  in  the  barrel 
forces  the  oil  out  through  the  discharge  pipe,  transmitting  it,  in  fact,  to 
considerable  distances  if  necessary. 


LUBRICATION  79 

The  storage  house  of  the  company  at  Wapakoneta,  in  which  the  oils 
are  kept,  is  somewhat  isolated,  and  the  compressed-air  system  used  in 
the  shop  is  not  extended  to  it.  In  consequence,  a  portable  tank  has 
been  arranged  for  supplying  compressed  air  at  the  storehouse.  This 
tank  is  an  ordinary  main  reservoir,  16  in.  in  diameter  by  48  in.  long, 
such  as  is  used  on  an  interurban  car.  It  is  mounted  on  a  two-wheel 
truck  and  after  being  charged  with  air  in  the  shop  is  wheeled  from  there 
to  the  oil  house.  When  charged  at  a  pressure  of  60  Ib.  per  square  inch 
it  affords  sufficient  air  to  transfer  the  contents  of  a  50-gal.  barrel  to  any 
desired  receptacle. 

The  discharge  pipe  is  made  up  of  a  piece  of  1/2-in.  standard  gas 
pipe,  which  is  turned  in  a  lathe  to  give  it  a  smooth  surface  capable  of 
making  a  close  fit  in  a  stuffing  box.  The  siphon  head  through  which 
the  discharge  pipe  is  extended  is  made  of  cast  iron.  It  is  about  3  in. 
long,  threaded  on  the  outside  with  sixteen  threads  per  inch  and  cut  on  a 
taper  of  2  1/2  in.  per  foot,  as  this  taper  appears  to  be  the  general 
standard  used  for  the  sides  of  bungholes  in  oil  barrels.  A  stuffing  box 
is  inserted  in  a  threaded  recess  at  one  end  of  the  siphon  head  to  hold 
packing  around  the  discharge  pipe. 

The  siphon  head  is  drilled  with  a  1/4-in.  hole,  and  into  this  is  inserted 
a  1/8-in.  air-supply  pipe  on  which  are  mounted  a  pressure  gage  and  an 
air  cock  to  release  the  pressure  in  case  of  accident  to  the  barrel  or  to  the 
discharge  line. 

In  operation,  the  siphon  head  is  screwed  into  the  bunghole  of  :the 
barrel  until  it  is  air-tight,  and  the  1/2-in.  discharge  pipe  is  shoved  down 
through  the  siphon  head  until  it  reaches  the  bottom  of  the  barrel.  Air 
is  then  turned  on  to  the  air-supply  pipe  marked  C  on  the  accompanying 
illustration,  the  pressure  being  read  on  the  gage.  This  air  pressure  is 
transmitted  to  the  barrel  through  the  hole  in  the  siphon  head  marked 
F  and  the  oil  is  forced  up  through  the  pipe,  emerging  at  the  point  marked 
B,  from  which  it  is  delivered  into  any  desired  receptacle. 

The  holes  shown  in  the  upper  part  of  E,  the  siphon  head,  and  D, 
the  stuffing-box  nut,  are  bored  to  provide  a  means  for  screwing  the  two 
castings  into  place,  as  a  pin  inserted  into  one  of  the  holes  takes  the  place 
of  a  wrench  and  aids  in  assembling  the  apparatus  at  points  far  away  from 
the  shop. 

The  object  of  the  pressure  gage  is  to  enable  the  operator  properly  to 
adjust  the  air  pressure  and  to  prevent  the  barrel  from  being  subjected 
to  a  pressure  of  more  than  10  Ib.  or  12  Ib.  per  square  inch.  This  pressure 
has  been  found  to  be  sufficient  to  transfer  the  most  viscid  oils  to  the 
storage  tanks,  which  are  set  at  an  elevation  of  about  7  ft.  above  the  top 
of  the  barrel. 

The  device  has  been  found  to  be  very  satisfactory  and  decidedly 


80  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

convenient.  It  is  easy  to  assemble,  and  about  five  minutes'  work  is 
sufficient  to  make  complete  preparations  to  transfer  liquids,  as  it  is 
necessary  only  to  drive  in  the  bung  and  screw  the  head  into  place  in  the 
bunghole.  The  bottom  end  of  the  discharge  pipe  is  notched  out  as 
shown  in  the  illustration,  and  this  permits  draining  the  barrel  practically 
complete. 

With  the  device  it  has  been  found  that  about  ten  or  fifteen  minutes 
is  required  to  transfer  50  gal.  of  such  oils  as  turpentine,  signal  oil,  boiled 
linseed  oil  or  compressor  oil.  Oils  of  greater  viscosity  than  those,  such 
as  car  oil  or  cylinder  oil,  require  a  proportionately  longer  time. 

Waste  Saturating  and  Renovating  Plant  at  Chicago. — The  mechanical 
department  of  the  Chicago  Railways  Company  changed  its  method  of 
saturating  waste  in  the  year  1912.  Originally  this  work  was  handled  at 
the  various  carhouses,  substations,  and  generating  plants.  This  method 
was  not  considered  economical,  and  the  fact  that  a  large  number  of 
proper  installations  at  these  points  would  be  expensive  led  to  a  decision 
to  prepare  all  waste  at  a  central  point.  In  addition  to  saturating  new 
waste,  the  question  of  renovating  and  resaturating  old  waste  was  care- 
fully considered.  As  a  result  of  this  investigation  a  plant  was  installed 
at  the  Chicago  Railway  shops  on  Fortieth  Avenue  between  Lake  Street 
and  Washington  Boulevard  which  not  only  prepares  all  the  new  waste 
used  by  this  company  but  restores  old  waste  to  a  usable  condition. 

The  plant  consists  of  a  two-compartment  tank,  each  tank  being  34 
in.  wide,  30  in.  deep  and  12  ft.  in  length.  One  compartment  is  used  for 
renovating  old  waste  and  the  other  for  saturating  new  waste.  The  tank 
has  been  installed  so  that  the  uppermost  portion  of  the  drip  rack  is 
slightly  above  the  workman's  waist  line  when  he  stands  on  the  foot- 
board. As  is  shown  in  the  illustrations,  it  is  entirely  surrounded  with 
steam-pipe  coils  which  keep  the  oil  in  a  fluid  condition  at  all  times.  This 
hot  oil  not  only  reduces  the  time  required  to  saturate  waste  but  results  in 
better  saturation. 

In  preparing  to  renovate  old  waste  three  barrels  of  car  oil  are  turned 
into  one  of  the  tanks.  After  this  is  properly  heated  100  Ib.  of  old  waste 
is  put  iato  the  oil  and  allowed  to  soak  from  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes. 
At  the  end  of  this  time  the  man  in  charge  of  the  plant  works  the  waste 
back  and  forth  through  the  oil  with  a  pitchfork.  This  operation  con- 
tinues about  two  or  three  minutes,  and  then  the  waste  is  thrown  on  the 
drip  rack,  where  it  is  allowed  to  drain  for  twenty  minutes.  At  the  end 
of  this  time  it  is  ready  for  use  and  is  deposited  in  cans  used  for  transporting 
it  to  various  stations  on  the  system. 

When  new  waste  is  saturated  five  barrels  of  oil  are  turned  into  the 
other  compartment  and  400  Ib.  of  new  wool  waste  is  thrown  into  the  tank, 
where  it  is  allowed  to  soak  for  half  an  hour.  At  the  end  of  this  period 


LUBRICATION 


81 


82 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


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the  waste  is  thrown  on  the  drip  rack  and  allowed  to  drain  for  fifteen 
minutes,  when  it  is  ready  for  use.     The  size  of  the  rack  is  such  that  75 

Ib.  of  saturated  waste  can  be 
placed  on  it  to  drain  at  one  time. 
One  man  is  able  to  prepare  all 
the  waste  used  by  the  Chicago 
Railways  Company  and  prepares 
about  800  Ib.  of  renovated  waste 
and  a  similar  amount  of  new 
waste  in  a  nine-and-one-half- 
hour  day. 

It  is  evident  to  those  familiar 
with  the  old  method  of  prepar- 
ing waste  that  the  time  required 
is  greatly  reduced.  Heretofore 
this  company  saturated  all  waste 
at  the  various  stations  in  cold 
oil.  The  new  waste  was  allowed 
to  soak  in  the  oil  about  forty- 
eight  hours  before  it  was  placed 
in  the  drain  tank,  where  it  was 
allowed  to  remain  twenty-four 
hours,  thus  making  the  total 
time  three  full  days.  Under  the 
present  method  it  will  be  noted 
that  the  time  required  to  prepare 
either  new  or  old  waste  is  less 
than  one  hour.  Not  only  is  the 
time  reduced  but  the  cost  of 
saturation  is  lowered  about  500 
per  cent.,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  waste  is  saturated  better. 
Probably  the  largest  item  of 
economy  gained  from  employing 
a  plant  of  this  character  will 
be  found  in  the  renovation  of 
old  waste  which  originally  was 
discarded.  The  saving  not  only 
includes  the  waste  but  a  large 
proportion  of  oil.  Under  the  new 
system  the  mechanical  depart- 
ment estimates  that  it  will  be  unnecessary  to  buy  any  new  wool  waste 
for  several  years.  It  also  plans  to  reclaim  the  babbitt  which  is  usually 


.Jt 


LUBRICATION  83 

found  in  the  caked  portions  of  old  waste.  After  a  certain  amount  of 
old  waste  has  been  cleaned  the  oil  is  taken  from  the  old- waste  com- 
partment and  the  sediment  removed.  This  sediment  is  placed  on  a 
large  piece  of  sheet  steel  and  the  oil  burned  out  of  it.  The  sheet-steel 
table  is  so  arranged  that  as  the  oil  burns  the  babbitt  is  melted  and 
allowed  to  run  into  a  mold  at  one  end.  Similar  systems  are  employed 
by  several  of  the  large  steam  roads  and  the  babbitt-saving  feature  is 
considered  one  of  the  most  economical  features  of  the  plant. 

With  a  plant  like  this  great  economies  are  possible.  For  instance, 
the  oil  required  to  saturate  1  Ib.  of  new  waste  is  0.35  gal.  and  that  re- 
quired to  saturate  old  waste  is  0.035  gal.  The  labor  cost  of  the  new 
system  is  almost  negligible,  being  3  mills  per  pound  of.  waste  handled. 
The  plant  itself  is  comparatively  inexpensive  and  expert  labor  is  not 
required  in  its  operation. 

Safety  Waste  Cans  at  Chicago. — A  special  form  of  waste  receptacle 
has  been  placed  at  those  locations  in  the  shops  of  the  Chicago  Railways 
where  much  wiping  waste  is  used.  The  receptacles  are  large  cylindrical 
waste  cans  into  which  a  screen  has  been  supported  about  6  in.  from  the 
bottom.  As  the  waste  is  thrown  into  the  cans  it  rests  on  the  screen  and 
the  oil  and  gasoline  drain  to  the  bottom  space.  Dirty  waste  collected 
from  such  cans  can  safely  be  thrown  directly  into  the  furnace  with  little 
danger  of  flashing  back  into  the  fireman's  eyes. 

Reclaiming  Compressor  Oil  in  Brooklyn. — The  drawing  on  page  82 
shows  the  details  of  a  four-chamber  metal  tank  used  by  the  Brooklyn 
Rapid  Transit  System  for  the  reclamation  of  compressor  oil.  The  first 
section  is  provided  with  cheesecloth  strainers.  The  oil  is  gradually 
cleansed  as  it  percolates  these  strainers.  On  reaching  the  bottom  of 
the  first  chamber  it  flows  into  the  second  compartment,  then  into  the 
third  compartment  and  finally  enters  the  fourth  compartment  through 
an  opening  at  the  bottom.  By  the  time  the  oil  has  reached  the  fourth 
chamber  it  is  thoroughly  satisfactory  for  re-use.  One  faucet  is  provided 
to  draw  clear  oil  and  another  is  installed  for  relieving  the  tank  of  sedi- 
ment and  water.  Steam  coils  are  used  to  maintain  the  temperature 
of  the  oil  at  100  deg.  Fahr.  A  gage  is  also  attached  to  the  tank  to  show 
the  relative  amount  of  oil  and  water  contained  therein. 


VIII 
BEARING  PRACTICE 

Cast-iron  Armature  Bearings  and  Motor  Axle  Linings. — Cast-iron 
motor  axle  linings  have  been  in  use  on  Cincinnati  car  equipment  for 
several  years  and  are  giving  excellent  results.  No  special  lubricant  has 
been  employed  and  no  babbitting  is  required. 

In  1912  the  company  began  to  apply  cast-iron  sleeves  to  the  bearing 
ends  of  the  armature  shafts  as  fast  as  they  came  into  the  shop  for  repairs, 
and  the  brass  bearings  are  being  replaced  with  cast-iron  bearings,  thus 
making  a  cast-iron-on-cast-iron  bearing  surface.  The  sleeve  is  shrunk 
on  the  armature  shaft  and  eliminates  the  dust  ring.  No  special  lubricant 
is  required,  and  the  fact  that  no  perceptible  wear  has  been  noted  after 
eight  months'  service  indicates  that  the  life  of  the  bearing  will  be  much 
more  than  that  received  from  ordinary  brass  bearings  and  that  the 
quantity  of  oil  required  will  be  materially  reduced.  The  fact  that  the 
cast-iron  bearing  does  not  require  a  babbitt  lining,  as  well  as  the  difference 
between  the  cost  of  brass  and  cast  iron,  materially  reduces  the  cost  of 
manufacture  and  maintenance. 

Bearing  Practice  at  New  Orleans. — The  bearings  made  in  the  foundry 
of  the  New  Orleans  Railway  &  Light  Company  are  cast  from  a  plastic 
bronze  mixture  consisting  of  10  per  cent,  of  lead,  1  per  cent,  of  tin  and 
89  per  cent,  of  copper.  The  journal  brasses  are  finished  on  the  axle  sides 
by  polishing  with  emery  cloth  fastened  around  a  wood  cylinder  which 
revolves  rapidly  in  a  high-speed  polishing  lathe.  This  gives  the  bearings 
a  smooth  cylindrical-shaped  inside  surface.  In  the  manufacture  of  bear- 
ings, trolley  wheels  and  other  small  castings  the  foundry  melts  about 
550  Ib.  of  metal  a  month. 

In  babbitting  the  armature  bearings  for  the  GE-57  motors  the  bear- 
ing halves  are  centered  with  wedges  about  the  armature  shaft  after  a 
piece  of  paper  has  been  wrapped  around  it.  The  oil  hole  is  filled  with 
a  plug  and  the  babbitt  is  poured  in  the  end  of  the  shell.  By  following 
this  method  of  babbitting  it  is  unnecessary  to  rebore  the  bearings;  and 
an  increased  life  is  obtained  from  the  bearings  because  the  hard  skin 
forming  over  the  outside  of  the  babbitt  is  not  cut  away  before  the  bearing 
is  put  into  service. 

Bearing  Practice  at  Columbus. — As  on  many  other  roads,  the  master 
mechanic,  of  the  Columbus  (Ohio)  Railway  &  Light  Company,  Charles 

84 


BEARING  PRACTICE  85 

E.  Hott,  has  devised  a  special  bearing  metal  formula.  He  uses  77  per 
cent,  copper,  8  per  cent,  tin  and  15  per  cent.  lead.  The  copper  is  placed 
in  a  crucible  and  allowed  to  reach  the  melting  temperature,  then  the  tin 
and  lead  are  added.  After  all  the  metals  have  been  thoroughly  mixed 
by  stirring,  the  mixture  is  poured  into  small  pigs  and  allowed  to  cool. 
This  process  has  been  found  to  give  a  tough  material  of  uniform  texture 
whose  turnings  when  the  castings  are  finished  are  blue  and  not  copper- 
colored. 

The  same  process  is  used  in  making  the  babbitt  metal  as  in  the 
bearing  metal.  A  mixture  of  16  2/3  Ib.  of  tin,  8  1/3  Ib.  of  antimony 
and  8  1/3  Ib.  of  copper  is  melted  and  poured  into  pigs  and  allowed  to 
cool.  When  this  mixture  is  remelted,  66  2/3  Ib.  of  tin  is  added,  making 
a  total  of  100  Ib.  of  metal  ready  for  use.  The  average  mileage  during 
1911  obtained  from  this  babbitt  in  GE-67  armature  bearings  was  45,174 
miles.  This  average  includes  all  bearings  removed  on  account  of  acci- 
dents or  other  causes  not  due  to  natural  wear.  The  GE-88  axle  linings 
averaged  91,457  miles  in  the  same  year. 

Bearing  Metals  in  Richmond. — The  Virginia  Railway  &  Power  Com- 
pany, Richmond,  Va.,  formerly  used  for  its  armature  and  axle  bearings 
a  tin  base  metal  which  proved  unsatisfactory  as  the  bearings  broke  fre- 
quently before  the  metal  was  worn  away  to  any  considerable  extent. 
The  old  metal  ran  from  12,000  miles  to  26,000  miles  in  the  armature 
bearings  and  11,000  miles  to  19,000  miles  in  the  axle  bearings.  It  has 
since  been  replaced  by  a  bronze  bearing  composed  of  77  per  cent,  copper, 
15  per  cent,  lead  and  8  per  cent.  tin.  These  new  bearings  run  more  than 
50,000  miles.  This  composition  costs  4  cents  to  5  cents  per  pound  more 
than  copper,  but  whatever  scrap  is  left  has  the  same  value  as  copper. 
The  net  cost  of  the  alloy  varies  between  5  cents  and  6  cents  per  pound 
for  the  material  used.  It  may  be  of  interest  to  add  that  all  armature 
bearings  are  bored  with  a  self-centering  machine  and  afterward  rolled 
under  pressure.  This  gives  a  remarkably  smooth  finish,  and  thereby 
tends  to  increase  the  life  of  the  bearing  since,  at  the  start,  there  are  no 
inequalities  in  the  surface. 

Bearing  Composition  for  Armatures  and  Journals. — A  railway  which 
uses  the  same  tin-base  metal  for  armature  and  journal  bearings  has 
found  the  following  composition  a  very  satisfactory  one:  Tin,  96  parts; 
aluminum,  8  parts;  copper,  4  parts.  New  ingots  and  scrap  removed  for 
the  first  time  are  used  exclusively  for  armature  bearings.  After  the 
armature  bearings  wear  out  the  metal  is  remelted  for  journal  bearings 
and  for  journal-bearing  liners  until  it  is  finally  scrapped.  No  mileage 
records  are  kept  of  the  journal  bearings,  but  in  motor  bearings  this 
babbitt  metal  has  shown  a  life  of  48,000  miles. 

Removing  and  Replacing  Motor  Bearings. — Several  types  of  motors, 


86 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


including  the  Westinghouse  12A,  93 A  and  101B,  have  pressed-in  bear- 
ings. At  the  Hartford  shops  of  the  Connecticut  Company  such  bear- 
ings formerly  were  replaced  by  using  a  sledge  hammer,  but  the  latter 
practice  has  been  discontinued  as  it  sometimes  caused  the  breakage  of 
the  bearings.  The  bearings  are  now  removed  and  replaced  by  the  aid 
of  a  home-made  air  press  which  consists  principally  of  an  old  car  cylinder, 
the  frame  of  a  Westinghouse  No.  49  field  press  upon  which  the  cylinder 
is  mounted,  a  gage,  valve  handle  and  the  necessary  piping.  Air  at  70 
Ib.  to  90  Ib.  pressure  is  available  for  this  service,  but  it  has  been  found 
that  for  general  purposes  a  16-in.  cylinder  should  be  used  in  place  of  the 
10-in.  cylinder.  In  operating  this  press  metal  blocks,  rings  and  even 
trolley  wheels  are  used  between  the  bearings  and  the  piston  to  insure 


Scraping  an  axle  bearing  on  a  shaper,  Hudson  and  Manhattan  shops. 

uniform  distribution  of  pressure.  This  air  press  is  also  used  for  inserting 
bushings  in  compressor  motor  bearings  and  for  similar  work.  (The 
Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  System  uses  a  screw-press  for  the  same  purpose.) 

Cutters  which  are  graded  to  1/64  in.  are  used  to  insure  the  absolutely 
correct  diameter  of  finished  armature  and  axle  bearings  when  the  bear- 
ing is  being  centered  in  the  lathe.  Other  cutters  are  used  to  finish  the 
face  of  the  bearing  at  the  same  time. 

Adapting  a  Shaper  for  Planing  Journal  Bearings. — For  some  time 
the  Hudson  &  Manhattan  Railroad  has  adapted  a  shaper  at  its  Jersey 
City  shops  for  scraping  out  babbitted  journal  bearings,  as  shown  in  the 
accompanying  illustration.  The  planing  disks  used  consist  of  scrapped 
axle  metal,  which  was  stamped  to  shape  by  means  of  a  steam  hammer. 
The  back  of  the  disk  is  perfectly  flat,  but  the  front  has  its  circumference 


BEARING  PRACTICE 


87 


raised  slightly  in  order  to  obtain  a  cutting  edge  for  the  removal  of  the 
babbitt.  The  disks  are  made  in  two  sizes,  one  of  5  in.  diameter  for  the 
5-in.  X9-in.  motor-truck  journal  bearings  and  one  4  1/4  in.  diameter 
for  the  4  l/4-in.X8-in.  trailer  truck  journal  bearings.  The  cost  of  the 
cutting  disks  is,  of  course,  practically  nothing.  At  the  same  time  the 
work  of  scraping  out  the  babbitt  is  greatly  facilitated  because  the  disks 
cut  the  entire  width  at  once.  In  practice  it  has  not  been  found  necessary 
to  run  the  shaper  more  than  a  dozen  times  to  surface  a  bearing  completely. 
Chuck  for  Boring  Bearings. — The  accompanying  drawing  shows  the 
details  of  a  chuck,  which  was  designed  principally  for  boring  split  bear- 
ings, as  built  by  F.  J.  Stevens,  then  master  mechanic  of  the  Lackawanna 
&  Wyoming  Valley  Railroad,  Scranton,  Pa.,  and  now  master  mechanic 


r-C 


=q       I    2%    X5   THREADS    PER    IN. 


Detail  of  motor  bearing  chuck. 

of  the  Ft.  Wayne  &  Northern  Indiana  Traction  Company.  The  old 
way  of  boring  these  bearings  was  to  place  a  clamp  on  one  end  before 
putting  the  bearings  in  the  lathe  chuck.  After  the  bearings  were  in  the 
chuck  some  time  was  required  to  line  them  up  properly  before  the  cuts 
could  be  started.  Now  the  bearings  are  placed  in  the  chuck  and  tightened 
with  two  ring-nuts.  The  bearings  are  bored  absolutely  true  both  as  to 
center  and  end  or  face,  while  the  work  itself  is  done  in  less  than  one-half 
the  time  required  by  the  old  method. 

The  chuck  consists  of  a  cast-iron  cylinder,  one  end  of  which  is  of  a 
size  that  can  be  threaded  to  fit  the  lathe  spindle  and  the  other  large 
enough  to  admit  the  bearing.  First  the  casting  is  put  in  the  lathe  and 
the  threads  are  cut  for  the  spindle,  whereupon  it  is  put  on  the  spindle 
and  the  remaining  machire  work  finished.  In  this  way  the  chuck  is 
made  absolutely  true.  Aft  ^r  this  four  slots  are  cut  90  deg.  apart  for  the 
jaws  and  then  threaded  fr  m  each  end  toward  the  center  with  right- 


88  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

and  left-hand  threads  for  the  two  ring-nuts.  The  ring-nuts  are  also 
slotted  on  the  quarter  to  permit  the  use  of  a  spanner  wrench  for  tighten- 
ing. The  inner  side  of  each  ring-nut  is  tapered  to  fit  the  taper  of  the  jaw. 
A  recess  is  cut  in  the  jaw  (section  A  B)  and  cylinder  to  admit  a  coil 
spring.  This  spring  serves  to  hold  the  jaw  in  place  as  well  as  to  release 
the  grip  on  the  bearings  when  the  latter  are  finished  and  the  ring-nuts 
are  released. 

This  chuck  can  be  used  also  on  solid  bearings  of  any  size  that  can  be 
put  in  it.  The  taper  of  the  jaws  can  be  made  to  fit  the  conditions.  The 
range  of  the  device  for  split  bearings  is  limited  by  the  size  of  the  collar  on 
the  end  of  the  bearing.  To  insure  an  absolutely  true  face  on  each  half 
of  a  split  bearing  it  is  necessary  to  have  something  with  which  it  can  be 
lined  up  and  placed  in  the  same  position  in  which  it  would  be  on  the 
motor.  The  chuck  is  a  great  labor  saver  where  there  are  many  bearings 
to  bore,  since  it  saves  time  in  truing  up  bearings  and  the  grip  is  tight 
enough  to  admit  the  taking  of  deep  cuts  up  to  the  finish  cut.  The  work 
can  be  concluded  with  a  light  cut  at  a  high  speed,  as  there  is  no  danger 
that  the  bearings  will  become  loose  or  that  the  chuck  will  be  thrown  out. 
The  dimensions  of  the  chuck  can  be  varied  to  suit  conditions. 

Lathe  Attachment  for  Boring  and  Facing  Armature  Bearings. — Many 
electric  railway  shops  do  not  realize  how  much  the  life  of  an  armature 
bearing  can  be  lengthened  if  it  is  properly  faced  and  bored  when  first 
placed  in  service  after  babbitting.  Generally  the  bearings  are  put  into 
the  lathe  for  centering  and  lining-up  by  hand  with  a  piece  of  chalk. 
This  method  not  only  requires  the  services  of  a  good  machinist,  but  also 
at  least  half-an-hour's  time.  With  the  attachment  shown,  however, 
the  same  work  can  be  done  with  absolute  accuracy  in  no  more  than 
four  minutes. 

The  accompanying  detail  and  assembly  drawing  shows  the  apparatus 
with  dimensions  to  fit  an  18-in.  lathe.  The  same  idea,  of  course,  can 
be  carried  out  for  other  sizes.  As  the  drawing  is  so  complete  it  is  not 
necessary  to  explain  every  detail,  but  a  little  advice  on  a  few  points  may 
not  be  out  of  place.  Piece  No.  4  must  be  fitted  after  the  rest  is  assembled 
and  the  thickness  will  have  to  be  planed  until  the  threads  will  come  in 
position  to  set  the  jaws  in  the  correct  center.  To  do  this  right  it  is  best 
to  take  a  3-in.  or  4-in.  truing  shaft,  place  it  between  the  centers  of  the 
lathe  and  set  the  jaws  against  it.  This  will  show  how  much  must  be 
planed  off  from  piece  No.  4.  The  T-bolts  fit  into  the  grooves  on  the  car- 
riage slide  of  the  lathe.  Besides  these  screws,  there  should  be  one  1/4-in. 
dowel  pin  on  each  slide  to  get  the  apparatus  in  line  on  the  lathe.  The 
dowel  pins  should  be  fastened  to  the  jaw  slids  No.  8  and  the  holes  to  re- 
ceive them"*should  be  drilled  in  the  slide  o  i  the  lathe.  No.  10  is  the 
boring  tool,  which  fits  the  chuck  threads  on  ihe  lathe  spindle. 


BEARING  PRACTICE 


89 


Assembly  and  details  of  lathe  attachment  for  facing  and  boring  bearings. 


90  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

Boring  is  carried  out  thus:  Adjust  the  bearing  with  the  large  end 
toward  the  left  or  spindle  on  the  lathe  and  fasten  with  the  hand  wheel. 
This  will  instantly  bring  the  bearing  in  line  and  in  center.  Then  set  the 
tool  at  the  end  of  the  boring  bar  for  a  rough  cut  about  1/16  in.  less  than 
the  final  cut.  Set  the  feed  in  the  carriage  and  run  the  tool  through  from 
left  to  right.  When  through,  stop  the  feed  and  run  the  carriage  by  hand 
over  to  the  right  until  the  facing  tool  strikes  the  bearing.  Then  press  gently 
and  the  tool  will  cut  the  babbitt  in  thin  ribbons  from  the  bearing  until 
the  desired  size  is  obtained.  Then  set  the  tool  at  the  end  of  the  boring 
bar  to  the  exact  size,  set  the  reverse  feed  and  run  through  from  right  to 
left.  When  through,  adjust  the  carriage  by  hand  so  that  the  boring  tool 
will  take  off  the  edge.  This  completes  the  bearing. 

Non-babbitt  Bearings. — No  babbitt  is  used  in  any  of  the  bearings 
made  at  the  Decatur  shops  of  the  Illinois  Traction  System  shops,  and 
excellent  mileage  results  are  credited  to  the  care  in  manufacture  and  the 
mixture  that  is  used.  This  mixture  is  similar  to  that  used  on  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  for  the  better  class  of  bearings.  It  consists  of  30  per 
cent,  lead,  68  per  cent,  copper  and  2  per  cent.  tin.  In  case  the  mixture 
includes  scrap  brass  of  known  composition  the  quantity  of  tin  is  increased 
3  or  4  per  cent.,  and  the  lead  is  reduced  in  proportion.  This  bearing 
metal  has  a  light  bronze  color.  It  is  comparatively  soft  but  very  tough. 
These  qualities  reduce  the  labor  cost  of  turning  and  boring  the  bearings. 
The  lathe  used  for  turning  and  boring  operates  at  300  r.p.m.,  and  GE-73 
armature  bearings  are  bored  and  turned  for  15  cents  each. 

The  work  of  finishing  the  bearings  has  been  greatly  facilitated  by 
the  use  of  an  expander  mandrel.  This  mandrel  is  made  from  a  hollowed 
piece  of  shafting  slightly  coned  and  of  sufficient  length  to  extend  through 
the  longest  bearing.  The  large  diameter  of  the  mandrels,  which  are 
made  special  for  the  different  sized  bearings,  is  about  1/100  in.  larger  than 
the  finished  inside  diameter  of  a  bearing.  The  tapered  portion  of  the 
mandrel  has  been  slotted  with  1/8-in.  longitudinal  slots  at  intervals  of 
1  in.  throughout  the  entire  circumference.  The  bearing  when  ready 
for  turning  is  slipped  on  the  tapered  end  of  the  mandrel,  then  forced  to 
a  secure  position  and  then  the  whole  is  inserted  in  the  lathe. 

The  master  mechanic  says  that  since  using  this  bearing  formula  he 
has  not  had  a  broken  bearing.  An  example  of  the  service  obtained 
from  this  bearing  metal  is  found  in  armature  bearings  of  some  large 
motors  on  an  old  sleeping  car  which  makes  a  200-mile  run  from  Spring- 
field to  St.  Louis  and  return  with  very  few  stops.  These  bearings  operate 
at  high  unit  pressure  and  formerly  it  was  necessary  to  replace  them  at 
intervals  of  two  days.  As  manufactured  of  the  new  metal,  these  bearings 
now  require  changing  only  on  thirty-day  intervals. 

The  simple  employment  of  this  bearing  metal  formula  was  not  all 


BEARING  PRACTICE  91 

that  was  necessary  to  obtain  the  good  service.  It  required  considerable 
experimenting  before  the  exact  time  of  adding  the  tin  and  lead  was  de- 
termined, and  it  was  found  that  a  great  deal  of  stirring  was  necessary 
at  the  time  the  metal  was  being  poured.  Besides  the  two  men  engaged 
in  carrying  the  ladle  and  pouring,  a  third  man  is  continually  stirring  the 
hot  metal.  This  keeps  the  three  component  metals  thoroughly  mixed 
and  allows  them  to  amalgamate  properly  when  cold.  The  copper  is  put 
in  the  crucible  first  and  allowed  to  melt.  When  the  melting  point  of 
the  copper  is  reached  the  tin  is  added  and  then  the  lead. 

The  use  of  a  solid  brass  bearing  is  to  a  certain  extent  novel  and  the  mas- 
ter mechanic  explains  its  employment  on  the  Illinois  Traction  System  in 
this  way.  In  a  GE-73  pinion  end  bearing  there  is  a  total  weight  of  17  1/4 
Ib.  of  bearing  metal,  which  costs  about  12  cents  per  pound.  If  babbitt 
was  used  for  lining  the  bearing,  it  would  amount  to  between  15  and  18 
per  cent,  of  the  total  weight,  and  the  babbitt  would  cost  approximately 
45  cents  per  pound.  The  difference  in  the  total  cost  of  material  is  evident, 
even  though  the  cost  of  replacing  the  babbitt  after  it  has  worn  through 
is  not  considered.  The  cost  of  remelting  all-brass  bearings  is  no  greater 
than  the  cost  of  replacing  the  babbitt  lining  when  the  labor  and  materials 
are  both  considered. 

Boring  Motor  Bearings  on  a  Converted  Planer  (By  H.  D.  Allen).— 
The  Portland  Railroad  division  of  the  Cumberland  County  Power  & 
Light  Company,  Portland,  Maine,  had  during  1912  a  number  of  motors 
which  were  worn  so  badly  in  the  armature  and  the  axle-bearing  seats  that 
it  was  impossible  to  keep  the  bearings  tight,  but  otherwise  they  were  in 
good  condition,  so  it  was  decided  to  rebore  the  motor  shells  and  put  in 
larger  bearings.  As  the  company  did  not  believe  that  there  was  enough 
of  this  work  to  warrant  the  purchase  of  a  special  machine,  one  of  the  com- 
pany's standard  planers  was  fitted  up  to  do  the  work  at  a  cost  less  than 
$100  for  both  labor  and  material.  All  of  the  work  of  conversion  was 
carried  out  by  the  shop  force. 

The  converted  machine  was  a  34-in.  planer  which  was  idle  part  of 
the  time,  and  this  was  equipped  with  two  boring  bars  made  out  of  old 
axles.  A  special  casting  for  a  head-stock  was  made  up  and  bolted  to 
the  regular  planer  head  by  the  bolts  that  ordinarily  fastened  the  swiveling 
tool  carriage  to  it.  The  end  thrust  of  the  bars  was  taken  care  of  at  the 
headstock,  and  at  the  other  end  the  bars  were  left  free  where  they  were 
supported  in  bearings  bolted  to  the  platen. 

The  motors  which  were  to  be  bored  were  bolted  to  the  platen  by 
forms  suitable  for  each  different  type,  thus  establishing  the  proper 
relative  height  of  the  bars.  The  bars  were  made  adjustable  laterally 
to  permit  of  their  being  set  any  required  distance  between  centers,  and 
each  bar  was  fitted  with  two  cutters  in  order  to  get  at  all  four  holes  in 


92 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


BEARING  PRACTICE  93 

the  motor  without  moving  it,  thereby  insuring  perfect  alignment.  Both 
holes  in  one  end  of  the  motor  were  bored  at  the  same  time.  The  bars 
were  made  31/2  in.  in  diameter,  and  the  bearings  made  very  heavy  to 
eliminate  all  vibration.  A  wooden  frame  was  built  over  the  planer  bed 
at  the  rear  of  the  housing  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  regular  planer  work 
in  order  to  support  a  1  15/16-in.  shaft  running  parallel  with  the  boring 
bars.  This  shaft  was  run  by  a  quarter-turn  5-in.  belt  from  the  regular 
counter  shaft,  and  the  boring  bars  in  turn  were  belted  to  this  shaft  with 
4-in.  belts.  The  proper  feed  for  boring  was  obtained  by  moving  the 
planer  bed  very  slowly  by  means  of  intermediate  pulleys  and  belts 
running  from  an  auxiliary  counter  shaft  near  the  floor  at  the  rear  of  the 
planer  to  the  driving  pulley  on  the  side  of  the  planer.  This  introduced 
two  reductions  in  speed  between  the  regular  floor  counter  shaft  and  the 
driving  pulley.  The  regular  planer  belts  were  left  on  all  the  time  but 
were  kept  on  the  loose  pulleys  by  locking  the  automatic  reverse  handle 
in  the  center. 

To  change  from  boring  feed  to  the  regular  planer  stroke  it  is  only 
necessary  to  throw  off  the  feed  belt  and  unlock  the  reverse  handle. 
When  the  tailstock  for  the  boring  bars  is  removed  and  the  headstock 
is  replaced  by  the  regular  tool  carriage  the  machine  is  ready  for  use  as  a 
planer.  In  refitting  the  motors  the  old  dowel  pins  were  done  away  with 
and  a  3/8-in.  key  was  substituted.  To  cut  the  ways  for  these  keys  a 
splining  tool  was  put  in  each  boring  bar  in  place  of  the  regular  boring  tool, 
the  belt  from  the  auxiliary  counter  shaft  was  thrown  off  and  the  bars 
were  locked  so  they  could  not  turn.  The  planer  was  then  operated  in  the 
usual  way,  the  motors  being  left  in  the  same  position  that  they  were  in 
when  being  bored,  thus  making  all  keyways  perfectly  true.  This  ar- 
rangement made  a  most  satisfactory  splining  attachment.  With  the 
converted  planer  a  Westinghouse  68-C  motor  can  be  bored  and  the 
keyways  cut  in  four  hours. 

A  Standard  Method  for  Rebabbitting  Bearings. — The  mechanical 
department  of  the  Cleveland,  Painesville  &  Eastern  Railroad  Company, 
instead  of  leaving  the  procedure  followed  in  babbitting  bearings  to  the 
individual  ideas  of  the  workman,  has  prepared  a  standard  set  of  instruc- 
tions to  be  followed  in  doing  this  work.  The  instructions  are  as  follows: 

"  Prepare  the  shell  by  melting  out  all  the  old  babbitt  and  chip  and  file 
the  edges  of  the  lubrication  holes  and  oil  groove  recesses,  leaving  them 
clean  and  smooth;  then  heat  the  shell  sufficiently  to  drive  off  any  moisture. 
Rub  the  surface  to  be  tinned  with  a  cloth  saturated  with  a  zinc  chloride 
soldering  solution.  Coat  any  machine  part  of  the  shell  not  to  be  tinned 
with  a  thin  mixture  of  graphite  and  water.  Dip  the  shell  thus  prepared 
in  a  pot  of  a  half-and-half  solder  which  should  be  kept  at  a  temperature 
between  315  deg.  C.  and  370  deg.  C.  Leave  the  shell  in  the  solder  until 


94  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

it  is  just  hot  enough  for  the  solder  to  run  off,  leaving  a  thin  coating. 
Remove  the  shell  from  the  pot  and  thoroughly  rub  the  surface  to  be 
coated  with  a  swab  saturated  with  the  zinc  chloride  soldering  fluid,  mak- 
ing sure  that  all  parts  have  an  even  coating.  Rub  the  tinned  surface  with 
clean  waste  to  remove  any  oxide  or  other  foreign  matter  and  brush  the 
graphite  from  the  untinned  parts.  The  mandrel  should  be  large  enough  to 
leave  after  babbitting  at  least  0.020  in.  for  finishing.  Close  the  lubrication 
holes  with  a  cylindrical  piece  of  sheet  iron,  pouring  them  solid  with  the  lin- 
ing, and  then  clean  them  out  afterward  with  a  hot  iron.  The  tempera- 
ture of  the  blocks  at  the  pouring  should  be  the  same  as  that  of  the  shell. 
The  babbitt  should  be  kept  at  a  temperature  between  350  deg.  C.  and 
475  deg.  C.  Dip  the  metal  from  the  bottom  of  the  pot  to  insure  thorough 
stirring.  To  avoid  pocketing  air  pour  in  a  steady  stream,  about  3/16  in. 
in  diameter,  directly  down  around  the  mandrel.  Perform  all  operations 
from  tinning  to  pouring  inclusive  as  rapidly  as  possible,  not  allowing  the 
bearing  to  cool.  Blow  holes  should  be  sealed  with  a  hot  soldering  iron, 
using  the  same  babbitt.  Remove  the  babbitt  from  the  lubrication  holes 
with  the  hot  iron,  file  the  edges  smooth  and  clean  out  the  oil  grooves. 
Finish  bearing  in  accordance  with  design." 

The  use  of  this  process  has  been  followed  with  excellent  results  on  the 
road  in  question. 


IX 
CURRENT  COLLECTING  DEVICES 

Trolley  Wheel  Formula. — The  Columbus  (Ohio)  Railway  &  Light 
Company  uses  a  special  formula  for  trolley  wheels.  It  is  90  per  cent, 
copper  and  10  per  cent.  tin.  A  mixture  consisting  of  25  Ib.  of  copper 
to  1  Ib.  of  zinc  is  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  the  lugs  used  on 
switchboards. 

Trolley  Wheel  Manufacture  at  New  Orleans. — In  the  manufacture 
of  trolley  wheels  by  the  New  Orleans  Railway  &  Light  Company  six 
wheels  are  cast  at  one  time.  The  mixture  from  which  they  are  poured 
consists  of  89  per  cent,  copper,  1  per  cent,  antimony  and  10  per  cent.  tin. 
Old  commutator  segments  are  used  in  the  casting  of  trolley  wheels.  The 
service  records  of  this  company  show  that,  considering  all  of  the  trolley 
wheels  in  use  on  the  entire  equipment  of  rolling  stock,  the  average  has 
a  life  of  7300  miles.  The  wheels  as  manufactured  at  this  shop  are  fitted 
with  1/2-in.  graphite  bushings. 

Atlanta  Trolley  Wheel  Practice. — The  trolley  wheels  of  the  Georgia 
Railway  &  Electric  Company,  Atlanta,  are  made  of  89  parts  copper,  10 
parts  tin  and  1  part  antimony,  are  giving  an  average  life  of  5000  miles 
at  a  cost  of  15.8  cents  per  1000  miles.  The  wheels  are  oiled  nightly  at 
the  top  of  the  car.  In  1908  the  total  cost  for  all  current-collection  labor 
and  materials,  namely,  wheels,  harps,  poles,  washers,  etc.,  from  the  base 
up,  was  only  19  cents  per  1000  miles.  The  trolley  bases  are  kept  at  a 
tension  of  15  Ib.  to  20  Ib.  The  trolley  wheels  and  many  other  brass  and 
iron  parts  are  made  in  the  company's  own  foundry. 

Trolley  Wheel  Practice  and  Casting  Formula  at  Boston. — The 
Boston  Elevated  Railway  Company  has  been  remarkably  successful  in 
securing  low  trolley  maintenance  by  the  use  of  a  light  trolley  harp  and 
wheel.  The  total  costs  of  wheels,  harps,  poles  and  trolley  bases  was  given 
at  not  over  $2100  per  annum  for  over  40,000,000  car-miles  by  Paul 
Winsor,  chief  engineer  of  motive  power  and  rolling  stock,  at  the  1909 
convention  of  the  American  Street  &  Interurban  Railway  Engineering 
Association.  The  company  feels  that  to  maintain  perfect  contact  be- 
tween the  trolley  wheel  and  the  wire  it  is  very  desirable  to  make  the  wheel 
and  outer  end  of  the  pole  as  light  as  possible,  and  on  some  of  the  heaviest 
equipment  better  service  has  been  obtained  from  a  4-in.  wheel  than 
from  larger  wheels  of  the  same  chemical  composition.  The  company 
uses  a  12-ft.  pole  of  steel,  weighing  about  23  Ib.,  including  the  wheel. 

95 


96 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


The  company  endeavors  to  obtain  spring  in  the  pole  at  the  upper  end, 
so  as  to  absorb  shocks  and  inequalities  in  the  wire.  A  very  light  harp  is 
used  with  the  4-in.  wheel,  and  the  latter  is  now  standard  practice  for 
the  entire  surface  system.  The  bushing  on  the  4-in.  wheel  is  fitted  with 
a  1/2-in.  spindle  in  place  of  the  5/8-in.  spindle  used  on  the  5-in.  wheels. 
The  company  does  not  consider  it  economical  to  use  large  wheels  on 
surburban  lines  and  later  transfer  them  to  its  urban  service.  All  the 
wheels  used  in  Boston  are  made  by  the  company  after  its  own  formula, 
which  is  as  follows:  Copper,  91.08  per  cent.;  tin,  6.60  per  cent.;  lead, 
0.20  per  cent.;  zinc,  1.95  per  cent.;  phosphorus,  0.17  per  cent. 

The  Roller  Trolley. — The  adoption  of  the  roller  trolley  and  panto- 
graph on  several  recent  heavy-traction,  high-tension,  direct-current  lines 


FIBRE  WASHER 


%   X  1    MACH. SCREWS 

H"  OIL  HOLE 


26% 


CONTRACT  ROLLER 

SHAFT  c.  ROLLED  STEEL 


-H 


8PACE  BETWEEN  WD. BLOCK 
AND  FIBRE  WASHER 
VtUED  WITH  EXCET^IOB 
OR  WASTE  


2 


f          2          H      OIL  HOLES 

BUSHING  BRASS 


WD.  BLOCK 

Roller  trolley,  Key  Route,  California. 

makes  a  short  account  of  the  construction  of  this  roller  of  interest.  It 
was  developed  and  used  on  a  large  scale  first  on  the  Key  Route  cars  in 
Oakland  and  Berkeley,  Cal.  On  these  lines  trains  of  six  or  more  heavy 
cars  run  at  high  speeds  with  an  ordinary  trolley  voltage,  and  this  made 
necessary  a  current  collector  which  would  have  greater  capacity  than  the 
ordinary  trolley.  Since  the  first  roller  trolley  was  adopted  on  that  line 
several  improvements  have  been  made,  and  the  accompanying  engraving 
shows  the  latest  type  of  Key  Route  trolley. 

The  roller  is  mounted  on  a  pantograph  frame  and  weighs,  complete  with 
spindle,  28  Ib.  The  wearing  surface  is  a  tube  of  non-arcing  brass,  sup- 
ported on  a  wooden  roller.  The  height  of  the  trolley  wire  above  the  head 
of  the  rail  varies  from  14  ft.  6  in.  to  22  ft.,  yet,  owing  to  the  pantograph 


CURRENT  COLLECTING  DEVICES 


97 


construction,  the  pressure  of  the  roller  against  the  wire  is  kept  practically 
constant  at  about  34  Ib.  The  average  mileage  of  the  rollers  is  55,000. 
The  cost  of  manufacture  on  a  large  scale  is  $6.62  each. 


Assembled  rotating  spiral  sleet  cutter,  Cincinnati. 


COLD  ROLLED  STEEL  SPINDLE 


BOtV 

FRAME  LEFT 

Details  of  rotating  spiral  sleet  cutter,  Cincinnati. 

A  Rotating  Spiral  Sleet  Cutter.— Practically  all  the  cars  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati Traction  Company  have  been  equipped  with  the  home-made 
sleet  remover  illustrated.  The  design  of  the  sleet  remover  follows,  to 


98  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

a  certain  extent,  the  usual  form ;  but  the  method  employed  for  breaking 
up  the  sleet  and  removing  it  from  the  trolley  wire  is  novel.  The  device 
consists  of  a  cast-steel  harp  applied  to  the  trolley  pole  by  passing  a  3/8- 
in.  X3-in.  bolt  through  the  opening  between  the  spokes  of  the  trolley 
wheel,  and  is  clamped  in  position  by  means  of  a  thumb  nut.  A  spiraled 
brass  rotor,  supported  on  a  5/8-in.  cold-rolled  steel  spindle,  is  inserted 
in  the  bearings  provided  in  the  harp.  The  spindle  is  held  in  position 
in  the  harp  by  cotter  pins. 

The  principle  employed  in  removing  the  sleet  is  first  to  crush  the  ice 
and  then  to  remove  it  by  vibrating  impacts.  The  wire  is  forced  to  the  side 
of  the  brass  rotor,  which  in  turn  forces  the  wire  out  of  the  groove  suddenly, 
throwing  it  back  toward  the  center  of  the  harp.  Owing  to  its  small 
diameter  the  rotor  revolves  at  an  extremely  high  speed  when  the  car  is 
under  way.  The  constant  pounding  action  of  the  wire  against  the  rotor 
as  the  wire  slips  from  the  inside  face  of  the  harp  to  the  center  of  it  crushes 
the  ice  and  the  vibrating  impacts  shake  the  ice  from  the  wire. 

Repairing  a  Trolley  Retriever. — It  is  a  dangerous  job  to  take  a  Knut- 
son  retriever  apart  when  the  tripping  attachment  is  bent  or  broken  and 
the  spring  is  wound.  To  prevent  accidents,  make  a  wooden  box  with  a 
slot  to  come  even  with  the  cap  screws.  There  are  four  cap  screws  which 
hold  the  heavy  spring  box  in  place.  Remove  one  of  these  screws  on  each 
side.  Then  place  the  wooden  box  over  the  retriever  so  that  the  remaining 
screws  can  be  reached  through  the  slot  with  a  wrench.  When  the  last 
two  screws  are  removed  the  spring  will  unwind  inside  the  box  without 
any  danger  to  the  operator. 

Trolley-stand  Repairs. — On  many  electric  roads  a  badly  worn  trolley- 
pole  bearing  means  the  renewal  of  the  bearing  and  pin.  But  at  Cin- 
cinnati a  method  of  repair  has  been  devised  which  eliminates  this  necessity. 
The  worn  trolley-stand  bearings  are  reamed  out  and  the  pin  turned 
down  until  it  is  true.  This  provides  sufficient  space  to  insert  a  set  of  1/4- 
in.  case-hardened  cold-rolled  steel  rods  which  have  been  turned  true, 
thus  making  a  roller  bearing  out  of  a  plain  bearing.  The  bearing  is  in- 
closed by  a  large  washer  and  stud  bolt  screwed  in  the  top  of  the  trolley 
bearing  pin.  This  method  of  repair  provides  not  only  a  better  bearing 
but  one  that  requires  less  attention  and  oil. 

Trolley-adjusting  Device. — A  simple  device  used  by  the  Chicago 
City  Railway  Company  for  obtaining  uniform  tension  between  the 
trolley  wheels  and  wires  consists  of  two  wooden  rods  with  a  spring  balance 
hooked  between  them.  On  the  end  of  the  upper  rod  is  a  hook  which  is 
inserted  in  the  trolley  harp.  Another  hook  on  the  lower  rod  fits  the  end 
of  the  car  hood,  and  thus  the  deviee  serves  to  hold  the  trolley  wheel  at 
the  regular  operating  height.  It  is  the  practice  to  keep  the  trolley  base 
spring  so  adjusted  that  the  wheel  bears  against  the  wire  at  a  pressure  of 


CURRENT  COLLECTING  DEVICES  99 

22  Ib.  When  using  this  simple  device  the  workman  can  stay  on  the  car 
and  observe  the  tension  while  he  adjusts  the  springs. 

Truss-supported  Trolley  Bases  at  Mobile. — S.  M.  Coffin,  master 
mechanic,  Mobile  Light  &  Railroad  Company,  has  equipped  the  single- 
truck  cars  of  that  company  with  special  bridges  to  support  the  trolley 
bases.  Thus  the  roof  of  a  car  is  not  only  protected  from  undue  strains, 
but  the  noise  within  the  car  is  minimized.  The  " trolley  board"  or  truss 
on  which  the  trolley  base  is  mounted  comprises  two  pieces  of  wood  2 
in.  X6  in.  in  section  at  the  center  and  sized  to  1  1/4  in.  X6  in.  at  the  ends. 
These  pieces  are  trussed  from  end  to  end  with  two  5/8-in.  rods.  The 
wooden  pieces  are  held  about  4  in.  apart  by  spacing  blocks  and  are  con- 
nected to  the  truss  rods  by  two  queen  posts  placed  about  18  in.  from  the 
center.  This  combination  of  wood  and  steel  trolley  plank  is  in  turn 
supported  only  at  its  ends,  and  therefore  the  load  of  the  trolley  base 
is  entirely  removed  from  the  center  of  the  car  roof. 

An  iron  saddle  extending  over  the  width  of  the  monitor  carries  two 
rubber  cushions  supporting  the  trolley  board.  Two  through  bolts  at 
each  end  securely  fasten  the  trolley  board  to  the  roof,  and  the  tightening 
of  the  nuts  on  these  bolts  compresses  the  rubber  cushions  so  that  the 
trolley  board  holds  the  trolley  base  securely  in  place.  The  cost  of  these 
trolley  boards  is  small  and  the  resulting  saving  in  repairs  to  the  roof  is 
said  to  be  quite  marked. 

Telltale  for  Third-rail  Shoe  Tripper  Signal.— The  Hudson  &  Manhat- 
tan Railroad,  New  York,  has  installed  at  its  Jersey  City  shops  a  signal  trip- 
per. This  tripper,  which  is  attached  to  one  of  the  rails,  consists  of  a  metal 
bracket  on  which  a  shimmed  square  plate  is  carried.  Every  car  which 
leaves  the  shops  for  operation  is  obliged  to  pass  the  point  where  this 
tripper  is  installed,  and  if  the  tripper  of  the  automatic  stop  mechanism 
on  the  car  is  too  low  it  will,  of  course,  be  intercepted  by  the  adjustable 
plate  and  bring  the  car  to  a  stop. 

Renewal  Plate  for  Third-rail  Shoe. — The  Central  California  Traction 
Company,  whose  line  connects  Stockton,  Cal.,  with  Sacramento,  Cal., 
was  one  of  the  first  1200- volt  lines  to  be  built  in  this  country  and  the  first 
to  use  a  1200-volt  third  rail.  An  underrunning  shoe  of  the  usual  type 
is  employed,  but  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  scrapping  an  entire  shoe,  a 
wear  plate  is  used.  This  plate  is  the  invention  of  W.  E.  Rose,  master 
mechanic  of  the  company.  The  plate  is  of  soft  steel,  3/4  in.  X3  in.  X6 
in.,  and  is  attached  to  the  upper  or  wearing  part  of  the  shoe  by  tapering 
copper  rivets  so  that  as  the  plate  wears  away  the  rivets  also  wear  down 
and  the  plate  remains  on  the  casting  of  the  shoe.  It  has  been  found 
practicable  on  the  lines  of  the  Central  California  Traction  Company 
to  wear  the  plate  down  to  1/8  in.  thickness.  It  can  then  be  scrapped  and 
a  new  plate  attached  at  the  cost  of  a  few  cents. 


100 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


CURRENT  COLLECTING  D^YICES  °'        101 


A  Sleet-removing  Device  for  Exposed  Third  RaUsi^F^p  ^  number  of 
years  the  operating  and  mechanical  departments  of  t'he  Metropolitan 
West  Side  Elevated  Railroad  Company  have  been  trying  to  secure  a 
third-rail  sleet-cutting  device  that  would  efficiently  do  the  work  for  which 
it  was  intended.  They  have  experienced  very  little  trouble  in  securing 
a  device  that  would  remove  sleet  in  extremely  cold  weather,  but  to  get 
one  that  would  do  the  work  well  at  the  time  the  sleet  is  falling  and  when 
the  ice  is  to  a  certain  extent  tough  and  resilient  and  adheres  to  the  rail 
seemed  to  be  impossible.  After  testing  a  great  many  types,  both  pur- 
chased and  of  their  own  design,  they  developed  in  1912  the  sleet  remover 
shown  in  the  illustration  on  page  100,  and  this  was  found  to  give  best 
satisfaction  under  all  operating  and  weather  conditions. 

The  device  as  shown  consists  of  a  piece  of  oak  2  5/8  in.X5  1/2  in. 
X4  ft.  1  3/4  in.,  at  one  end  of  which  the  crusher  rolls  are  placed  and  at  the 
other  end  are  the  scrapers.  The  crushing  rolls,  3  1/4  in.  X3  1/2  in.  in 
size,  are  right  and  left  spiral-toothed,  made  of  cast  crucible  steel,  hardened, 
but  not  machined.  These  rollers  are  carried  on  1-in.  X6-in.  steel  pins, 
which  are  held  in  place  in  the  steel  slide-rod  casting  by  cotter  pins  at 
each  end.  At  each  end  of  the  oak  board  is  a  cast-iron  cam  and  wooden 
handle,  which  is  used  in  raising  or  lowering  the  rollers  or  scrapers  from  or 
to  the  working  position. 

The  scraper  blades  are  1/4  in.X3  3/4  in.X2  3/8  in.  and  are  made  of 
tool  steel.  There  are  four  of  these  blades  bolted  to  cast-steel  pivots  so 
that  they  may  take  the  scraping  position  for  either  a  backward  or  forward 
movement  of  the  car.  The  scrapers  are  supported  on  a  slide  rod  provided 
with  the  elevating  cam  similar  to  the  crushers.  Immediately  inside  the 
guide  plates  which  support  the  crusher  and  scraper  slide  rods  are  two 
cast-iron  corrugated  plates  which  are  used  in  adjusting  the  sleet  remover 
for  different  truck  heights  and  wheel  wear.  Bolted  to  the  top  of  the  oak 
insulating  timber  is  an  adjusting  leaf  spring,  the  ends  of  which  are  fitted 
into  slots  provided  at  the  top  of  each  slide  rod.  At  first  this  spring 
provided  100  Ib.  pressure  at  both  the  crusher  and  scraper,  but  now  the 
crusher  end  pressure  has  been  increased  to  200  Ib.  by  adding  another  leaf 
to  the  crusher  end  of  the  spring.  This  sleet-removing  device  may  be 
either  bolted  to  the  third-rail  shoe  beam  or  held  in  position  as  shown  on  the 
plan  by  means  of  a  casting  which  is  fitted  to  the  car  spring  seats.  A  1/2- 
in.  flashboard  made  of  ash  and  running  the  full  length  of  the  sleet  remover 
has  been  inserted  between  adjusting  plates  and  the  oak  timber  to  provide 
additional  insulation. 

The  device  can  be  applied  to  the  car  spring  seat  for  about  $14  each, 
and  if  applied  to  the  third-rail  shoe  beam  the  cost  is  reduced  to  about  $9. 
Its.  life  is  practically  unlimited  and  requires  only  the  renewing  of  the 
scraper  blades  and  crusher  rolls  from  time  to  time. 


102 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


Pnevimatic  Sleet  Shoe  used  by  Michigan  United  Railways. — The 
Michigan  United  Railways  system  includes  high-speed  lines  with  third- 
rail  of  the  open  type.  Current  is  collected  by  shoes  riding  on  the  top  of 
a  standard  section  T-rail,  which  is  carried  on  vitrified  clay  insulators. 
The  center  of  the  third-rail  is  20  in.  from  the  center  of  the  nearest  running 
rail,  and  its  upper  surface  is  6  in.  above  the  top  of  the  running  rails. 
This  road  has  experienced  difficulty  in  collecting  current  when  the  rail 
becomes  coated  with  sleet.  The  problem  has  been  solved  by  the  use  of  a 
pneumatically  operated  sleet-cutting  shoe  designed  by  W.  Silvus,  super- 
intendent of  equipment,  Albion,  Mich.  The  general  features  of  design 
of  the  shoe  and  its  method  of  attachment  are  shown  in  the  accompanying 
illustration,  which  is  a  plan  and  elevation  of  the  shoe  on  the  truck. 


FLEXIBLE  HOSE  FROM  AIR 
PIPE   ON   HERE 


"I 

Pneumatic  sleet  shoe,  Michigan  United  railway. 

Each  car  is  equipped  with  two  of  the  pneumatically  operated  shoes 
attached  to  the  front  of  the  third-rail  beams  on  the  front  truck.  The 
interurban  cars  of  the  Michigan  United  Railways  are  single-ended. 
The  sleet-cutting  shoe  is  of  the  same  design  as  the  regular  third-rail  shoe, 
but  has  four  steel  cutters  set  diagonally  in  its  face  and  cast  integral  with 
the  body  of  the  shoe.  When  these  cutting  edges  become  worn  or  damaged 
they  are  chipped  off,  and  the  shoe  is  kept  in  regular  service  until  it  is 
worn  out. 

The  sleet-cutting  shoe  is  mounted  on  a  vertical  iron  shaft  which  passes 
through  guides  and  is  attached  to  the  piston  of  an  air  cylinder  which  has  a 
5-in.  stroke.  A  spiral  spring  around  this  shaft  holds  the  shoe  off  the  rail 
except  when  air  pressure  is  put  on  the  cylinder  to  press  the  cutters  against 
the  rail.  The  air  supply  is  taken  from  the  train  line  through  a  3/8-in. 
three-way  valve  and  pipes  extending  under  the  car  to  a  point  convenient 
for  connecting  with  the  cylinder  which  operates  the  shoe.  This  connec- 
tion between  the  pipes  and  the  cylinder  is  made  with  a  2  1/2-ft.  length  of 
3/8-in.  air  hose,  secured  at  each  end  with  hose  clamps.  An  ordinary 
straight  valve  is  placed  in  each  supply  pipe  to  enable  the  motorman  to 
use  one  or  both  shoes  as  occasion  demands. 


X 
MOTORS  AND  GEARING 

Paving  Clearance  Gage  for  Motor  Shells. — A  gage  for  use  in  deter- 
mining the  clearance  between  motor  shell  and  paving  has  been  used  on 
the  Syracuse  lines  of  the  New  York  State  Railways.  It  consists  of  a 
wooden  frame  with  projecting  legs  at  each  end  spaced  so  that  the  bottoms 
of  both  rest  on  the  rails.  The  frame  has  a  hand  grip  on  the  upper  edge 
for  convenience  in  using.  A  sliding  board,  4  ft.  8  in.  X6  in.,  moves  up 
and  down  in  guides  and  is  clamped  to  the  frame  by  means  of  bolts  and 
wing  nuts.  The  inside  edges  of  the  frame  legs  are  graduated  in  inches, 


Pavement  clearance  gage  for  motor  shells,  Syracuse. 

and  marks  on  ends  of  the  sliding  board  indicate  the  average  height  of  the 
bottom  of  the  board  from  the  bottom  of  the  feet.  In  operation  all  that 
is  necessary  is  to  place  the  feet  on  the  rails  and  to  push  the  sliding  board 
down  as  far  as  it  will  go.  The  gage  can  then  be  raised  for  ease  of  reading 
the  end  scales.  Dangerously  high  paving  can  thus  be  detected  before  it 
does  damage  to  the  equipment. 

Sealed  Grease  Hole  Cover  for  Gear  Cases. — One  of  the  latest  Brook- 
lyn Rapid  Transit  improvements  for  increasing  the  efficiency  of  lubrica- 
tion is  the  practical  sealing  of  the  gear  cases  of  the  GE-64,  GE-80  and 
Westinghouse  68,  81,  93  and  101  motors.  The  usual  style  of  cover  for 
the  opening  in  the  top  half  of  gear  cases  is  always  liable  to  loosen,  thereby 
causing  much  noise  and  eventually  ruining  the  gears  through  the  entrance 
of  dust,  oil  and  water.  The  first  plan  was  to  rivet  a  sheet-iron  cover  on 
all  cases  in  place  of  the  hinged  cover.  The  objection  to  this  was,  however, 
that  it  would  then  be  impossible  to  open  the  top  cover  for  ready  inspection. 
The  solution  is  illustrated  in  the  drawing  on  page  103.  It  will  be  seen 
that  a  piece  of  strap  iron  was  riveted  to  the  gear  case  cover  and  that  a 
hole  was  tapped  in  the  motor  shell  to  take  a  3/8-in.  diameter  cap  screw. 
8  103 


104 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


The  interior  of  the  case  can  therefore  be  readily  inspected  merely  by  the 
removal  of  the  screwbolt. 

Providence  Coil  Practice. — At  Providence  armature  coils  on  being 
formed  are  dipped  in  hot  insulating  paint,  after  which  the  cotton  insula- 
tion at  the  ends  is  stripped  off  by  means  of  a  wire  brush  to  permit  them  to 
be  tinned.  Following  this  the  coils  are  covered  with  a  layer  of  tape,  a 


MATERIAL  MALL   IRON 


f-»fftt— T^r-1          ,  j 


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^"WROT  IRON  PIN  3^6    LONG 


FELT  CEMENTED   IN   PLACE 

Grease  hole  cover  for  West.  81  gear  case,  Brooklyn. 

layer  of  oil  linen,  a  second  layer  of  tape,  and  finally  are  dipped  in  a  cold 
insulating  compound  which  is  of  the  same  composition  as  the  hot  com- 
pound. The  coils  are  then  baked  over  night  in  an  electric  oven.  Field 
coils  are  filled  with  special  insulating  compound  as  they  are  wound, 
which  results  in  an  absolutely  solid  coil  when  finished.  The  company 
does  not  use  vacuum  insulation,  as  it  believes  that  the  system  which  it 
has  followed  for  the  past  thirteen  years  is  at  least  as  effective  and  more 
economical. 

Brooklyn  Field-coil  Practice. — Field  coils  which  are  returned  to  the 
shops  of  the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  System  for  impregnation  are  first 
tested  as  described  elsewhere.  If  found  in  good  condition  they  are 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING 


105 


covered  with  what  is  termed  a  " sacrifice  tape"  of  1  1/2-in.  width  cotton 
which  is  put  on  as  a  preliminary  to  the  impregnating  process.  After 
the  coils  have  been  kept  in  the  vacuum  for  four  and  a  half  hours  they  are 
placed  for  a  like  period  under  pressure  after  impregnating  compound  is 
drawn  in.  When  the  coils  have  cooled  and  hardened,  upon  removal 
from  the  pressure  tank,  the  sacrifice  tape  is  pulled  off,  thus  leaving  a 
smooth  coil  which  is  insulated  like  a  new  field  in  the  following  manner: 
Put  on  the  leads,  apply  one  layer  of  friction  tape,  one  layer  of  cloth  15 
mils  thick,  place  canvas  cap  on  the  motor  side  of  the  field  and  complete 
with  one  layer  of  1  1/2-in.  waterproof  tape  and  dip  in  air-drying  varnish. 
Coil  Work  by  West  Penn  Railways. — The  accompanying  illustration 
shows  a  convenient  method  which  is  used  by  the  West  Penn  Railways 
to  hold  a  coil  while  it  is  being  taped.  A  crank  on  a  screw  projecting 
upward  through  the  clamp  presses  the  clamp  down  against  the  coil. 


Holding  coil  while  taping  it,  West  Penn  railways. 

Coil  Practice  at  Baltimore. — In  the  shops  of  the  United  Railways  & 
Electric  Company  of  Baltimore  a  brick  oven,  which  is  steam  heated  in 
winter  and  electrically  heated  in  summer,  is  used  for  making  motor  coils. 
New  armature  coils  are  first  placed  in  the  oven  to  dry,  and  then  plunged 
into  a  compound  of  0.865  specific  gravity  which  has  been  heated  by  a 
steam  coil  to  about  90  deg.  Fahr.  As  the  warm  compound  is  thin,  this 
treatment  thoroughly  impregnates  the  cotton.  Gasoline  or  benzine  was 
formerly  used  as  a  thinner,  but  it  was  found  that  these  chemicals  destroyed 
the  body  of  the  varnish.  After  impregnation  the  armature  coil  is  returned 
to  the  oven  for  the  final  baking.  The  same  compound  is  used  in  making 
field  coils  except  that  it  is  mixed  with  French  chalk  to  form  a  mixture  of 
the  consistency  of  molasses.  This  mixture  is  then  applied  to  every 
turn  of  the  field  form  as  the  coil  is  being  wound  in  order  to  obtain  a  com- 
pact solid  mass.  After  this  treatment  the  coil  is  thoroughly  baked  in  the 
oven. 

Field  Coils  on  Third  Avenue  Railway,  New  York. — Nearly  all  field 
coil  work  of  the  Third  Avenue  Railway,  New  York,  is  straight  over- 
hauling only.  After  an  old  field  has  been  stripped  it  receives  one  layer  of 


106  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

linen  tape,  two  1  1/4-in.  layers  of  linotape  and  one  layer  of  1  1/4-in. 
canvas  tape,  upon  which  it  is  dipped  in  insulating  compound  and  baked 
for  twelve  hours.  After  this  first  drying,  the  coil  is  dipped  again  for  a 
second  baking.  The  oven  used  is  a  brick  structure,  the  walls  of  which 
are  lined  with  electric  heaters  near  the  floor  line  and  furnished  with  swing- 
ing brackets  for  the  suspension  of  drying  fields. 

A  Field  Coil  Repair  Economy. — The  Toledo  Railways  &  Light  Com- 
pany has  in  service  a  number  of  motors  equipped  with  spool-wound-type 
field  coils.  Grounds  on  such  coils  generally  occur  between  the  inside  layer 
of  the  winding  and  the  shell  on  which  the  coil  is  wound,  with  the  result 
that  the  defective  coil  must  be  stripped  and  rewound.  In  the  Toledo 
shops,  as  fast  as  grounded  coils  of  the  spool-wound  type  develop,  the 
spools  have  been  split  by  taking  a  cut  about  1/4  in.  wide  out  of  the  center 
of  the  spool.  The  two  separate  flanges  are  then  applied  to  the  coil  after 
it  has  been  wound  on  a  wooden  form. 

There  are  two  advantages  of  this  construction.  By  removing  the 
flanges  and  the  underlying  insulation  internally  grounded  field  coils 
very  often  can  be  repaired  at  minimum  cost.  Drying  out  of  the  field  coil 
insulation  tends  to  loosen  the  winding  on  the  spool,  resulting  in  a  shaky 
coil  and  ultimately  a  loose  connection.  With  the  split  spool  the  coil  can 
be  held  securely  in  place  by  tightening  up  the  pole  piece  bolts. 

Coil  Terminal  Anchorage. — During  1909  a  new  terminal  anchorage 
was  designed  and  put  into  use  on  all  field  coils  manufactured  at  the  shops 
of  the  Cincinnati  Traction  Company.  Within  the  following  two  years 
not  one  of  these  terminals  had  been  destroyed.  Provision  for  attaching 
a  lead  wire  to  either  outside  or  inside  terminals  is  afforded  by  a  tapped 
and  threaded  boss  against  the  top  of  which  the  lead-wire  terminal  lug  is 
held  securely  by  a  cap  screw  with  a  lock  washer.  The  terminal  for  the 
outside  wire  is  about  3  3/4-in.  long  and  L-shaped  so  that  it  will  fit  over 
the  side  of  the  coil.  A  hole  is  drilled  in  the  angle  of  the  L  for  insertion  of 
the  wire.  The  inside  terminal  also  is  formed  to  fit  the  contour  of  the  coil 
and  is  provided  with  a  strip  of  copper  which  reaches  across  the  width  of  the 
coil  and  is  bent  around  the  end  of  the  inside  wire  before  soldering.  The 
main  part  of  each  terminal  is  common  brass. 

Blowing  Out  Armatures. — At  the  shops  of  the  Hamburg  (Germany) 
Rapid  Transit  System  armatures  are  blown  out  with  compressed  air  in  a 
closed  room  instead  of  the  open  shop.  In  regular  operation  the  door  is 
closed  and  the  dust  is  drawn  off  directly  through  an  exhaust  without  the 
slightest  possibility  of  being  blown  into  the  shop. 

Commutator  Leads  at  Indianapolis. — In  the  armature  shop  of  the 
Indianapolis  Traction  &  Terminal  Company  pure  tin  is  used  in  place  of 
solder  to  fasten  commutator  leads  so  that  they  will  not  melt  out  at  tem- 
peratures which  would  soften  ordinary  solder.  The  leads  to  Westing- 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING  107 

house  56  motor  commutators  are  fastened  in  the  slots  without  soldering 
and  excellent  results  have  been  obtained  by  following  this  practice.  The 
slots  in  the  commutator  bars  are  milled  out  to  a  width  of  4/1000  in.  less 
than  the  diameter  of  the  wires.  The  leads  are  driven  into  the  narrow 
slots  with  a  flat  tool  and  the  compression  of  the  metal  holds  them  securely 
in  place  without  the  use  of  solder  or  wedges. 

Some  Toronto  Electrical  Practices. — In  overhauling  electrical  equip- 
ment at  the  shops  of  the  Toronto  Street  Railway,  the  motors  are  first 
stripped  of  their  armatures,  field  coils  and  brush-holders,  which  are  sent 
to  the  proper  department.  The  oil  cups  are  cleaned  and  the  motor  frame 
is  scraped  inside  and  out.  After  the  interior  of  the  motor  casing  has  been 
painted  with  black  insulating  compound,  oiled  canvas  liners  are  placed 
around  the  permanent  pole  pieces  and  the  frames  are  ready  for  assembling. 
The  cleaned  or  repaired  field  coils  are  next  put  in  place  and  the  magnet 
plates  bolted  home  with  finished  steel  bolts  and  hexagon  nuts  having 
spring-lock  washers.  After  the  motor  frames  have  been  bolted  together, 
a  gage  is  inserted  between  the  pole  pieces  to  test  for  proper  spacing.  If 
the  distances  are  found  correct,  the  armature  is  inserted  and  another  gage 
used  to  determine  the  distance  from  the  pole  pieces.  When  the  brush- 
holder  yokes,  brush-holder  bearings  and  lubricating  equipment  have  been 
installed  the  motor  is  subjected  to  a  running  test  for  three  hours  at  40  amp. 
During  the  course  of  this  test,  the  motor  is  coated  with  a  quick-drying 
mineral  black  paint.  Finally,  the  overhauled  gearing  is  lubricated, 
encased  and  put  on  the  trucks  with  the  motors  ready  for  service.  The 
motors  and  gearing  are  always  overhauled  in  sets  of  two  or  four. 

The  armatures  taken  out  of  the  motors  are  first  inspected  for  bearings 
and,  where  necessary,  renewals  are  made  with  cast-steel  sleeves  lined  with 
babbitt.  Next  the  entire  armature  is  carefully  cleaned,  the  commutator 
turned  and  polished,  and  the  string  band  inspected  or  renewed.  The 
commutator  is  then  subjected  to  the  millivolt  test  from  bar  to  bar. 
Finally,  the  armature  is  given  a  1000- volt  ground  test  and,  after  shellack- 
ing, is  available  for  service. 

The  field  coils  removed  from  the  motors  are  placed  in  a  section  of  a 
motor  frame  and  undergo  a  millivolt  reading  without  a  magnet.  Then 
a  second  reading  is  taken,  after  a  magnet  attached  to  an  air-cylinder  has 
been  lowered  on  the  coil.  If  the  meter  reads  up  to  standard  and  shows 
no  variation  when  the  coil  is  under  pressure,  the  outside  tape  is  repaired 
and  the  coil  is  dipped  in  air-drying  compound.  In  this  connection  it  may 
be  added  that  in  the  case  of  outside-hung  motors  a  great  reduction  in 
motor-lead  trouble  has  been  attained  by  boring  the  motor  frames  on  the 
axle  side  and  bringing  the  leads  out  as  near  the  king  bolts  as  possible. 

The  following  description  of  the  manufacture  of  a  GE-67  armature 
coil  will  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  company's  practice  in  coil  work  generally. 


108 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


The  GE-67  coils  are  made  three  at  a  time,  as  the  coil-former  has  a 
triple  groove.  Before  they  are  taken  off  the  former  they  are  kept  to 
shape  by  binding  them  with  soft  lead  straps.  Fish-paper  strips  are  then 
inserted  by  hand  between  the  coils,  after  which  the  coil  is  tied  up  and  the 
lead  straps  removed  for  re-use.  The  coil  is  next  dipped  in  varnish  and 
left  to  air  dry.  After  drying,  the  insulation  is  removed  from  the  ends 
for  a  length  of  2  1/2  in.  The  ends  are  then  tinned  and  covered  with  web- 
sleeving.  After  this  the  strings  are  taken  off  and  the  sides  of  the  coils 
are  surrounded  by  fish  paper,  which  is  hot-glued  on  by  a  small  air  press. 
Only  the  sides  are  treated  in  this  manner,  as  they  form  the  part  which 
goes  into  the  slots.  The  coils  are  then  taped  by  machine  with  linen 
taping,  which  is  applied  so  that  half  the  next  turn  always  overlaps  the 
preceding  one.  The  coil  is  then  dipped  in  air-drying  varnish  and  treated 
with  soap  stone  to  make  it  enter  the  armature  slot  easily.  The  completed 
coils  are  stored  in  closets,  according  to  type,  and  are  marked  with  the  date 
of  manufacture  so  that  the  oldest  will  be  taken  out  first. 

Field  coils,  after  winding,  are  heated  for  the  removal  of  moisture  and 
then  dipped  in  yellow  varnish  until  the  absence  of  bubbles  shows  that  all 
air  has  been  expelled.  Next  the  coil  is  baked  over  night  and  then  supplied 
with  flexible  leads  made  up  of  245  strands  of  untinned  No.  30  rubber- 
covered  wire.  One  lead  is  24  in.  and  the  other  6  in.  long.  When  the  leads 
are  soldered  on,  insulation  is  begun.  The  leads,  however,  are  not  tied 
down  parallel  to  the  coil  until  some  mica  has  been  inserted  between  them 
and  the  coil.  The  insulation  consists  of  two  double-overlaps  (four  thick- 
nesses) of  glace  belting  and  one  layer  of  insulating  tape.  The  field  is  then 

redipped  and  baked  all  night.  After 
the  second  baking,  the  corners  of  the 
coil  are  reinforced  with  No.  8  oil  duck. 
The  entire  coil  is  then  taped  with  black 
rubber  tape  and  air  dried  in  varnish  to 
complete  the  operation. 

Applying  Banding  Wire. — The  fol- 
lowing method  of  applying  banding 
wire  to  its  single-phase  motors  is  used 
by  the  Denver  &  Interurban  Railway. 
For  this  work  the  company  has  in- 
stalled an  automatic  tension-regulating  device  so  that  the  tension  on 
the  band  wire,  while  it  is  being  wound  on  the  armature,  can  be  kept 
continuously  at  any  amount,  that  usually  used  being  400  Ib.  With 
this  device,  also,  the  usual  tension  clamp,  which  presses  on  the  wire, 
is  not  required.  This  eliminates  the  danger  of  breaking  the  tinning  on 
the  steel  banding  wire,  a  fault  found  with  the  ordinary  contrivance. 
The  tension-regulating  device  consists  of  two  grooved  spools,  each 


Spools   for   holding   banding   wire, 
Denver  &  Interurban  railway. 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING 


109 


4  in.  in  diameter  and  6  in.  long,  held  in  a  frame  as  shown  in  the  first 
engraving.  The  wire  is  wound  back  and  forth  over  these 'two  spools, 
having  about  twelve  turns  on  each  spool.  A  leather  washer  fits  between 
the  end  of  the  spool  and  the  end  plate  in  the  frame  in  which  the  spools 
are  mounted,  and  by  means  of  a  screw  these  end  plates  can  be  pressed 
down  on  the  leather  washer.  In  this  way  the  power  required  to  revolve 
the  spools,  and  hence  the  tension  on  the  wire  as  it  leaves  the  spools  is 
regulated. 

The  second  engraving  shows  the  method  of  using  the  tension  device 
while  the  banding  wire  is  being  put  on  an  armature.  The  tension  device, 
with  the  wire  wound  on  it  as  described,  is  suspended  from  above  and  is 


Tension  device  for  banding  wire,  Denver  &  Interurban  railway. 

held  at  the  back  by  a  set  of  powerful  springs  to  which  are  attached  cords 
which  pass  over  pulleys  and  are  connected  at  their  lower  ends  with  weights. 
In  this  way  any  variation  in  size  in  the  wire  which  would  cause  inequality 
in  the  tension  when  the  wire  passes  over  the  spool  is  taken  up.  The  band 
wire  is  fed  to  the  spools  from  a  reel  overhead.  The  tension  is  usually 
kept  at  about  400  Ib.  instead  of  the  ordinary  tension  of  about  300  Ib. 
When  this  wire  is  wound  on  the  armature  tin  clips  are  placed  under  the 
wire  where  it  crosses  each  coil  instead  of  under  every  fourth  coil,  as 
formerly.  By  these  means  the  safe  maximum  speed  of  the  motors  has 
been  increased  from  1680  r.p.m.  to  from  1900  r.p.m.  to  2000  r.p.m.  and 
the  capacity  of  the  motor  has  also  been  increased. 

Brooklyn  Armature  and  Commutator  Practice. — At  the  shops  of  the 
Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  Company,  after  an  armature  coil  has  been 
wound  on  one  of  the  coil  forms,  the  ends  are  taped  and  sleeving  is  placed 
on  the  leads.  The  coil  is  then  baked  in  an  oven  for  two  hours,  after  which 


110 


ELECTKIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


it  is  dipped  in  baking  varnish.  The  coils  are  then  hung  up  in  an  ad- 
joining room  to  drip,  after  which  they  are  baked  for  four  hours.  Upon 
completion  of  the  second  baking  the  coil  is  taken  to  the  winding  room, 
where  both  sides  are  covered  with  three  thicknesses  of  cloth,  each  layer 
8  mils  thick.  This  cloth  is  applied  with  shellac  and  covered  with  fish 
paper,  which  is  tied  on  until  the  shellac  is  dried  sufficiently  to  retain  it. 
The  coils  are  now  ready  for  the  hot  presses.  The  details  of  one  of  these 
presses  are  shown  in  an  accompanying  drawing.  In  this  design  a  central 


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Armature  coil  press  for  West.  81  motors,  Brooklyn. 

screw  is  used  to  transmit  the  pressure  of  steel  plates  which  bear  on  the 
sides  of  the  coil.  There  are  one  or  more  side  clamps,  depending  upon 
the  size  of  the  coil,  to  secure  a  uniform  distribution  of  pressure.  The 
presses  are  steam-heated  and  water-cooled.  Of  the  sets  of  four 'valves 
used  in  connection  with  each  press,  two  are  for  steam  inlet  and  exhaust 
and  two  are  for  water  inlet  and  exhaust.  When  the  coil  has  been  hot- 
pressed  it  is  taped  and  dipped  again  and  returned  to  the  oven  for  the 
final  drying.  The  leads  are  then  tinned  and  the  coil  is  ready  for  assem- 
bling. The  use  of  hot  presses  has  greatly  improved  the  insulating  qualities 
of  the  coils. 

A  simple  but  important  improvement  in  the  banding  of  all  surface 
and  elevated  armatures  is  the  use  of  tin  binding  strips  to  prevent  the 
loosening  of  the  bands  in  service.  The  strips  are  laid  over  the  banding 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING  111 

insulation  which  is  in  the  bottom  of  each  banding  slot.  Then  the  wire 
bands  and  clips  are  installed  in  the  usual  manner  and  the  tin  strip  is 
soldered  to  the  entire  wire  band. 

When  armatures  are  brought  to  the  Fifty-second  Street  shops  for 
repairs  they  are  blown  out  by  compressed  air,  the  cleaning  being  done  in  a 
horizontal  cylindrical  tank.  This  tank  is  provided  with  an  exhaust 
which  carries  off  all  dust  and  dirt. 

The  commutators  of  all  types  of  motors  are  now  slotted.  The  slotter 
in  use  for  the  surface  armatures  has  a  slide  rest  which  carries  a  small 
swinging  frame  and  an  arbor  for  a  circular  saw.  Means  are  provided  to 
adjust  the  machine  for  commutators  of  various  dimensions.  The  slotter 
for  elevated  armatures  is  of  the  reciprocating  type  and  is  based  on  a  design 
used  by  the  General  Electric  Company.  The  armature  is  arranged  to 
rest  on  a  channel  beam  framework,  and  two  screw  posts  are  provided  for 
height  variation  with  a  horizontal  screw  in  each  post  to  make  adjustments 
to  prevent  end  motion.  The  reciprocating-type  slotting  saw  is  belt- 
driven. 

An  interesting  point  in  connection  with  the  commutator  work  is  that 
all  nuts  are  tightened  while  the  cone  ring  is  under  pressure  so  that  there 
is  no  strain  on  the  threads  when  the  nuts  are  sent  home.  The  pressure  on 
the  cone  ring  under  these  conditions  varies  from  5  tons  to  15  tons,  accord- 
ing to  the  type  of  commutator. 

Deep  Commutator  Slotting  at  New  Orleans. — All  new  commutators 
of  the  New  Orleans  Railway  &  Light  Company  are  slotted  to  a  depth  of 
from  1/4  in.  to  5/8  in.  and  the  slots  are  then  filled  with  plaster  of  Paris 
mixed  with  shellac.  Before  the  application  of  this  mixture  the  copper  of 
the  commutator  is  heated  with  a  gasoline  blow  torch.  The  mixture  is 
smeared  on  with  a  putty  knife  and  allowed  to  cool.  It  is  stated  that  this 
practice,  while  avoiding  too  frequent  reslotting  of  the  motor,  keeps  the 
carbon  dust  from  packing  between  the  bars,  thus  avoiding  the  possibility 
of  short  circuits. 

Commutator  Building  at  Toronto. — All  commutators  at  the  Toronto 
Railways  are  made  from  drop-forged  bars,  which  are  assembled  in  the 
four-piece  clamping  plate  shown  in  the  illustration.  Upon  inserting  the 
mica,  the  bars  are  squared  and  the  clamps  tightened,  after  which  the 
assembled  commutator  is  placed  on  a  lathe  chuck  to  bore  out  the  bars. 
The  latter  are  then  tested  for  short  circuits.  Next,  the  commutator 
bars  are  secured  on  the  commutator  core  and  a  second  short-circuiting 
test  is  made  after  the  removal  of  the  clamps.  The  commutator  is  then 
baked  over  gas  to  soften  the  mica,  after  which  it  is  tightened  again  and 
allowed  to  cool.  Then  it  is  taken  to  a  lathe  to  have  the  face  turned  and 
the  bars  slotted  for  the  armature  leads.  Following  this,  a  third  short- 
circuiting  test  is  made,  and  the  commutator  is  shellacked  at  both  ends. 


112 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


Finally,  the  commutator  is  pressed  on  the  armature  shaft  at  three  to 
seven  tons  pressure.  The  hydraulic  press  used  for  this  purpose  also 
serves  to  remove  the  commutators.  No  trouble  has  ever  been  experienced 
from  loose  commutators.  They  are  made  with  a  taper  of  about  3/16  in. 
and  are  held  by  a  jam  nut  between  the  oil  deflector  and  the  commutator 
end  and  by  a  collar  shrunk  on  with  a  holding  pin  or  dowel  to  prevent 
turning. 

Instead  of  using  a  milling  machine  for  cutting  the  bars  for  the  armature 
leads,  the  shops  have  devised  a  special  tool  post,  which  is  employed  for 
this  work  in  connection  with  a  cutter  wheel  on  the  arbor  of  a  lathe.  The 


Clamp  for  Setting  up  GE-800  Commutators,  Toronto. 

commutator  is  set  on  the  tool  post,  which,  in  turn,  is  set  on  the  lathe 
carriage.  The  post  is  furnished  with  adjustable  collars  for  different  sizes 
of  commutators.  The  teeth  of  the  bar-cutting  wheel  used  in  this  opera- 
tion, designed  especially  for  milling  copper,  are  alternately  square  and 
diamond  shaped.  The  latter  teeth  split  the  copper  and  the  former  sweep 
out  the  copper  dust.  These  wheels  are  far  superior  to  the  old  cutters, 
which  were  made  with  all  teeth  square.  They  can  mill  twenty-eight 
commutators  without  resharpening,  whereas  the  square  teeth  could  mill 
only  twelve  commutators  without  resharpening.  The  best  record  so 
far  made  was  with  two  cutters  which  milled  sixty-four  GE-1000,  GE-67 
and  GE-80  commutators,  in  all  of  which  the  arrangements  for  leads  are 
alike.  The  cutter  is  not  cooled  by  a  drip,  but  is  allowed  to  run  in  a  pan 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING 


113 


of  water,  which  arrangement  is  safer  for  the  attendant.  With  this  device 
a  Westinghouse  No.  3  commutator  is  slotted  in  6  minutes  and  a  GE-67 
commutator  in  15  to  20  minutes.  The  finishing  touches  are  made  with  a 
hand  file. 

The  commutator  slotter,  used  by  the  Toronto  Railway,  is  suitable 
for  cutting  commutators  of  any  size.  Both  ends  of  the  supporting 
frame  can  be  moved  vertically,  and  by  means  of  bevel  gearing  at  one 
end  of  the  commutator  can  be  moved  sidewise  to  handle  bars  out  of 
true  without  shaving  the  copper.  Another  feature  is  the  quick  reverse 
of  the  feeding  mechanism,  which  is  attained  by  releasing  a  spring  thumb 
latch  pressed  against  the  feed  thread  and  then  drawing  back  the  carriage. 

A  number  of  repairs  to  commutators  are  made  with  the  commutator 
in  a  vertical  position.  After  the  bearings  have  been  taken  off  and  both 
the  collar  and  oil  deflector  removed,  the  armature  is  set  with  the  commuta- 
tor end  up  in  a  floor  casting  containing  an  armature  pinion.  The  jam 
nut  is  then  unscrewed  and  the  mica  circle  removed,  after  which  the  com- 
mutator may  be  readily  examined  for  grounds  and  other  troubles. 

Method  of  Recording  Wear  of  Gears  and  Pinions  (By  W.  E.  Johnson). 
— The  recent  introduction  of  various  types  of  gearing  for  electric  railway 


RECORD  OF  GEAR  AND  PINION  WEAR 


3ATE  OF  IMPRSN. 


GEAR 


PINION 


INST  LD  NEW 


CTR IE-- 


WEAR         OE CTR- 


FIG.  1. — Filing  card  showing  impression  of  gear  and  pinion  teeth. 

service,  including  different  grades  of  treated  and  alloy  steels,  means  that 
accurate  records  will  be  kept  of  wear  and  mileage,  and  a  careful  study 
should  be  made  of  them  so  that  the  quality  and  combination  best  suited 
to  fulfil  the  requirements  of  the  service  may  be  determined.  This  is  es- 
pecially important  because  the  cost  of  these  special  grades  is  considerably 
more  than  that  of  the  ordinary  untreated  carbon  steel  pinions  and  cast- 
steel  gears  which  have  been  used  in  the  past. 

The  requirements  of  a  system  for  keeping  records  of  wear  and  mileage 
of  gears  and  pinions  are,  first,  that  it  shall  be  simple  enough  to  enable  the 


114 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


ordinary  shop  mechanic  to  obtain  and  report  conditions  as  to  wear  readily 
and  accurately,  and  second,  that  it  shall  provide  for  a  convenient  and  com- 
prehensive record  of  wear  and  mileage.  To  fulfil  these  requirements  the 
writer  devised  the  system  herein  described,  and  it  is  being  successfully 
used  by  the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  System  in  connection  with  extensive 
trials  of  various  makes  and  grades  of  gearing  now  under  way. 

At  the  time  of  its  installation  one  tooth  of  the  gear  or  pinion  is  marked 
on  the  end  with  a  prick-punch  for  identification  so  that  the  same  tooth 
can  be  selected  for  measurement  each  time  thereafter.  Then  an  impres- 
sion is  taken  on  a  standard  4-in.X6-in.  filing  card,  specially  printed  for 
this  purpose,  as  shown  in  Fig.  1,  by  placing  the  card  against  the  end  of 


BROOKLYN    RAPID    TRANSIT  SYSTEM 
/^yVJ\                                                                                        MECHANICAL    DEPARTMENT 

:AR  NO.            6 

\OX                               RECORD  OF  GEAR  AND  PINION  WEAR 

MOTOR    NO.         8 

TYPE  OF   MOTOR 
MAX.  T.  E.  BASED  ON    B 
MAX.  PRESSURE    ON   TE 
ITEM 
SERIAL    NO. 
MAKE 
TYPE 
ORDER    NO. 
INSTALLED 
DATE   INSPECTED 
MILEAGE 

LIP    OF    WHEELS 
PINION 

NO.PER   CAR 
GEAR 

G    - 
360 

338 
312 
288 
264 
240 
218   J 

m  = 

120  ^  |  i'lj; 

^SiS^gffl 

P 

WEAR    AT   START 
TOTAL   WEAR 
MILES   PER    .001" 
WORN    OUT 
BROKEN 
TRANSF'R'D  FROM  CAR 

"I 

144  ; 

120  j 

96 
72 
48 
24 

0 
G 

i::li 

20       40 
V                   WE/ 

80      80      100     120     140     160 
R    IN    THOUSANTHS    OF    AN 

i=  il 

180      200     220 
NCH 

FIG.  2. — Graphic  record  of  wear  and  mileage  of  gears  and  pinions. 

the  gear  or  pinion  teeth  and  lightly  hammering  on  the  back  of  the  card 
over  the  outline  of  the  tooth  with  a  machinist's  ball-pen  hammer.  The 
thickness  of  the  tooth  on  the  pitch  circle  is  then  measured  and  recorded 
on  the  same  card.  This  measurement  is  taken  at  three  points  on  the 
tooth,  namely,  at  the  outside  end,  center  and  inside  end.  After  the  car 
number  and  other  data  relative  to  the  gearing  have  been  entered  on  this 
card,  it  is  sent  to  the  office  of  the  superintendent  of  equipment,  where  the 
mileage  of  the  gear  from  the  date  of  its  installation  is  entered  and  the 
wear  and  mileage  are  recorded  graphically  on  the  form  reproduced  in  Fig. 
2.  This  form,  which  bears  complete  information  as  to  car  number, 
motors,  type  of  gearing,  tractive  effort,  etc.,  is  kept  in  a  special  post 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING  115 

binder  properly  indexed  for  reference,  and  as  it  is  printed  on  a  light  grade 
of  bond  paper  it  can  be  blueprinted  when  occasion  requires.  The  teeth  of 
both  gear  and  pinion  of  each  set  of  gearing  are  recorded  on  the  same  card 
and  form  so  that  the  effect  of  one  upon  the  other  can  readily  be  noted. 
Records  are  filed  by  car  number,  and  impressions  and  measurements  of 
the  gearing  are  taken  each  time  the  car  is  brought  into  the  shop  for  over- 
hauling. Thus  a  progressive  record  of  the  wear  and  mileage  is  obtained 
and  is  always  available  for  reference.  From  the  measurements  so  taken 
an  average  is  obtained,  and  the  rate  of  wear  and  cost  per  car  mile  are 
computed. 

Some  may  consider  it  superfluous  to  obtain  impressions  of  the  gear 
teeth  in  addition  to  the  measurement  of  wear  because  it  is  of  no  particular 
value  as  a  record.  However,  these  impressions  have  been  found  very 
convenient  as  a  reference.  Moreover,  they  provide  a  quicker  means  for 
indicating  the  condition  and  give  a  clearer  idea  of  the  wear  than  could  be 
obtained  from  the  measurements  alone.  Graphic  records  of  wear  and 
mileage  have  advantages  over  other  methods  in  that  any  variations  in  the 
rate  of  wear  are  discovered  at  once,  and  the  results  from  various  combina- 
tions are  readily  noted. 

The  measurement  of  the  gear  and  pinion  teeth  is  the  most  important 
part  in  records  of  this  kind,  for  unless  this  is  accurately  done  the  results 
will  be  unreliable  and  without  value  in  determining  the  best  and  most 
economical  type  of  gearing.  The  standard  commercial  instruments  for 

Via     STEEL  RIVETS  C'S'K.BOTH  SIDES.  FILE  FLUSH. 
Vie    STEEL  PLATE.  FINISH  ALL  OVER 


HARDE 

FIG.  3. — Calipers  for  obtaining  thickness  of  gear  tooth. 

measuring  gear  teeth  are  expensive  and  require  great  care  and  accuracy 
in  reading  the  results.  For  example,  a  vernier  or  micrometer  scale  is 
required  in  order  to  read  to  a  thousandth  part  of  an  inch,  and  furthermore 
such  scales  measure  only  the  thickness  of  the  tooth,  so  that  to  obtain  the 
wear  it  is  necessary  to  deduct  this  amount  from  the  original  tooth  thick- 
ness. The  instrument  devised  by  the  writer  is  inexpensive  and  requires 
no  knowledge  of  vernier  or  micrometer  reading.  As  shown  in  Fig.  3, 
an  ordinary  sliding  caliper,  which  is  provided  with  a  stop  plate  to  give  the 
required  distance  from  the  top  of  the  tooth  to  the  pitch  circle,  is  used  to 
obtain  the  thickness  of  the  tooth.  The  wear  is  then  obtained  directly 
by  inserting  a  tapered  gage  between  the  jaws  of  the  caliper.  This  gage, 


116 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


which  is  shown  in  Fig.  4,  is  based  on  the  same  principle  as  a  tapered  screw 
or  wire  gage.  The  zero  point  represents  the  new  theoretical  thickness  of 
the  tooth,  and  the  gage  is  tapered  0.04  in.  per  inch  of  length.  Full  1/4-in. 
graduations,  with  intermediate  partial  graduations,  are  provided  on  one 
face  of  the  gage,  and  as  each  full  graduation  represents  a  difference  in 
thickness  of  0.01  in.,  readings  to  0.001  in.  can  readily  be  obtained  with 
this  gage. 

The  height  of  the  jaws  on  the  calipers  will  vary  according  to  the  pitch 
and  also  according  to  the  number  of  teeth  in  gear  and  pinion  of  the  same 
pitch.  Where  a  comparison  in  wear  between  pinions  of  the  same  pitch 


GAUGE  FOR  2?^  PITCH   GEARS 

MATERIAL  SHEET  STEEL  «*THICK 

FIG.  4. — Gage  for  measuring  wear  of  gear  and  pinion  teeth. 

but  with  different  numbers  of  teeth  is  required  it  may  be  desirable  to 
have  a  set  of  calipers  for  each  type  of  pinion.  As  the  difference  in 
reading  in  such  cases  would  be  very  slight,  however,  and  as  they  would  at 
any  rate  be  comparative,  one  caliper  usually  is  satisfactory  for  each  pitch 
used. 

Experience  with  Slotted  Commutators  on  Railway  Motors  (By  F.  J. 
Foote). — The  Ohio  Electric  Railway  began  to  slot  commutators  about 
1910.  Previous  to  that  time  we  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  from  flat 
spots  on  commutators.  A  thorough  system  of  inspection  had  not  yet 
been  inaugurated,  and  the  presence  of  a  flat  commutator  would  often  be 
indicated  by  the  opening  of  the  main  circuit-breaker  on  the  car  when 
running  at  high  speed.  This  action  of  the  breaker  is  almost  a  positive 
indication  of  a  flat  commutator,  since  the  actual  working  current  required 
to  operate  the  car  is  less  at  high  speed  than  at  low  speeds  or  when  starting 
the  car.  The  flat  spot  causes  the  brushes  to  leave  the  commutator  or 
"jump"  at  high  speeds,  and  this  in  turn  causes  the  current  to  flash  over 
from  brush  to  brush  or  to  jump  to  the  motor  case.  This  flashing  over 
caused  the  burning  up  of  many  brush  holders  and  canvas  armature  hoods, 
the  grounding  of  the  commutators,  injury  to  the  field  coils  and  excessive 
burning  of  the  circuit-breakers.  The  worst  offenders  were  the  GE-73 
motors,  of  which  we  had  about  136  in  use  under  heavy  service  conditions. 

Just  before  the  time  that  we  began  to  slot  the  commutators  we  re- 
placed about  fifteen  brush  holders  per  month,  at  a  cost  of  $7.50  each. 
Since  this  was  done  flat  spots  are  almost  unknown,  and  we  do  not  average 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING  117 

one  burned  brush  holder  per  month.  Our  trouble  with  burned  canvas 
heads  has  been  greatly  reduced,  and  our  field  trouble  is  about  10  per  cent, 
of  what  it  was  formerly.  On  the  whole,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  slotting  the 
commutators  has  been  responsible  for  reducing  our  total  motor  troubles 
at  least  60  per  cent. 

Many  railway  men  do  not  seem  fully  to  understand  that  soft  carbon 
brushes  must  be  used  with  slotted  commutators.  We  have  proved  this 
fact  by  experience.  We  knew  that  soft  brushes  should  be  used  with 
slotted  commutators,  but  we  had  one  style  of  armature  whose  commuta- 
tor was  still  giving  trouble  from  flats.  As  we  had  no  soft  brushes  on 
hand  that  would  fit  it,  we  decided  to  slot  one  commutator  and  to  try  the 
old  hard  brushes.  After  this  commutator  had  been  in  service  for  a  few 
weeks  we  found  that  the  hard  brushes  had  been  wearing  away  the  com- 
mutator very  rapidly.  We  were  obliged,  therefore,  to  discontinue  the 
slotting  of  these  commutators  until  suitable  brushes  were  secured. 

The  converse  of  the  proposition  stated  hereinbefore  is  also  true, 
namely,  that  soft  brushes  are  not  suitable  for  use  on  unslotted  commuta- 
tors. An  old  motor,  which  was  driving  shop  machinery,  was  sparking 
badly.  The  commutator  had  not  been  slotted,  the  mica  between  the 
bars  being  extra  thick.  We  tried  soft  brushes  on  this  commutator,  but 
found  that  the  mica  wore  out  the  brushes  very  rapidly  and  that  the  spark- 
ing increased,  because  the  brushes  were  not  hard  enough  to  grind  the  mica 
even  with  the  copper  segments. 

Very  little  trouble  will  be  experienced  with  flat  commutators,  if  a 
brush  can  be  found  that  is  just  hard  enough  to  keep  the  mica  even  with 
the  copper.  We  had  several  GE-54  unslotted  commutators  for  which 
the  carbon  brush  that  we  were  using  seemed  to  be  just  right,  as  the  com- 
mutator rarely  showed  any  indication  of  high  mica  or  flat  spots.  This 
condition,  however,  would  be  very  difficult  to  secure  and  maintain  in  all 
cases.  Even  if  it  could  be  done  the  decreased  wear  of  the  commutator 
and  brushes  would  more  than  offset  the  extra  cost  of  the  soft  brushes  and 
slotting. 

In  regard  to  the  kind  of  brushes  used,  we  have  never  found  any  brush 
quite  equal  to  the  French  brushes,  although  American  brushes  nearly  as 
good  are  now  on  the  market,  and  in  a  short  time,  probably,  the  American 
brush  will  equal  the  best  imported  product.  One  trouble  experienced 
with  all  makes  of  soft  brushes,  but  not  with  the  hard  brushes,  is  the  excess- 
ive wear  on  the  flat  faces,  due  to  the  abrasion  of  the  brush  holders.  If 
the  manufacturers  of  soft  brushes  can  overcome  this  difficulty,  a  marked 
improvement  will  result.  Now  we  often  have  to  throw  away  brushes  due 
to  looseness  in  the  holders,  when  otherwise  they  would  be  of  service  for 
several  thousand  miles  more. 

We  have  tried  several  methods  of  slotting.     Our  first  slotting  was 


118  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

done  on  the  lathe,  using  for  a  slotting  tool  a  hack-saw  blade  about  1/2-in. 
long  which  was  set  into  a  piece  of  steel  for  a  tool  holder  in  the  tool  post  of 
the  lathe.  The  piece  of  saw  blade  was  set  in  such  a  way  that  each  of  the 
six  or  eight  teeth  would  cut  its  share  of  the  mica.  A  number  of  commuta- 
tors were  slotted  with  this  device,  but  it  was  found  that  the  teeth  clogged 
up  very  easily. 

We  next  rigged  up  on  our  banding  machine  a  circular  saw  of  1-in.  diam- 
eter with  about  sixteen  teeth.  This  saw  was  mounted  on  an  arbor  and 
driven  by  a  small  round  bell  at  about  1500  r.p.m.  from  a  motor  suspended 
from  the  shop  ceiling.  The  headstock  carrying  this  arbor  was  mounted 
on  a  slide  and  operated  with  a  hand  lever.  Arrangements  were  provided 
for  the  vertical  adjustment  of  the  saw.  This  contrivance  worked  fairly 
well  and  was  used  several  months.  We  found,  however,  that  it  was 
necessary  to  have  a  saw  that  would  clean  out  all  of  the  mica,  since  if  any 
was  left  in  the  sides  of  the  slots  it  would  not  break  out  but  would  remain  in 
place  and  cause  flat  spots.  In  other  words,  we  were  obliged  to  have  sev- 
eral widths  of  saw  to  match  the  various  commutators.  We  also  found 
that  the  saw  would  raise  a  small  "burr  "  that  sandpaper  would  not  remove, 
and  the  armature  had  to  be  put  back  in  the  lathe  for  a  very  light  cut. 

We  cut  the  slots  a  scant  1/16  in.  deep.  When  any  repairs  are  made  on 
commutators  it  is  usually  necessary  to  turn  them  down  to  some  extent 
before  slotting.  As  our  facilities  for  handling  heavy  armatures  are  not 
the  best,  we  finally  concluded  to  do  the  slotting  in  the  lathe,  using  in  the 
tool  post  a  tool  which  is  just  wide  enough  to  remove  all  of  the  mica  and 
no  copper.  In  this  way  the  preliminary  turning,  the  slotting  and  the 
final  light  cut  can  all  be  made  without  removing  the  armature  from  the 
lathe,  thus  saving  much  time. 

Considerable  skill  is  required  to  get  the  finishing  cut  just  right.  We 
find  that  it  is  necessary  to  keep  the  tool  very  sharp  and  keen,  whetting 
it  often  with  a  small  oilstone.  If  this  is  not  done  there  is  a  tendency  to 
drag  the  copper  into  the  open  slots.  Our  machinist  keeps  a  tool  exclu- 
sively for  this  work.  We  run  the  commutator  at  a  high  speed  when  turn- 
ing, and  the  whole  operation  of  taking  the  finishing  cut  after  slotting 
requires  about  five  minutes.  No  sandpaper  is  used.  It  is  necessary  to 
go  over  the  commutator  with  a  small  hook,  made  of  an  old  hack-saw  blade, 
so  as  to  pick  out  any  particles  of  copper  that  may  have  lodged  in  the  slots. 
Our  machinist's  regular  time  for  doing  this  work,  that  is,  taking  the  pre- 
liminary cut,  slotting,  taking  the  finishing  cut  and  going  over  the  commu- 
tator for  burrs,  is  forty-five  minutes  for  a  GE-73  bar  commutator  and  one 
hour  for  a  Westinghouse  No.  121,  205-bar  commutator.  The  tool  used 
for  slotting  is  a  single  point,  set  well  forward  and  having  a  large  rake. 

We  find  the  method  last  described  to  be  the  most  satisfactory  of  all 
yet  tried  by  us. 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING  119 

Splicing  with  Silver  Solder. — A  good  electrical  shop  kink  is  the  butt- 
end  soldering  of  broken  or  burned-out  wires  without  removing  them  from 
the  armature  or  field  coil.  If  the  splice  is  to  be  made  on  an  armature 
coil  the  damaged  wire  is  raised  a  little  way  out  of  the  slot.  The  insulation 
is  then  scraped  off  for  a  lew  inches  and  the  ends  of  the  broken  wire  are 
filed  off  smoothly,  after  which  a  piece  of  wire  is  cut  to  fill  the  gap.  One 
end  of  the  inserted  wire  is  then  butt-ended  with  the  armature  wire  and  the 
ends  heated  by  a  gas  torch  until  they  are  red  hot.  Upon  this  a  little 
borax  is  applied  as  the  flux,  and  then  some  silver  solder  is  inserted  between 
the  ends.  When  both  splices  are  completed  in  this  fashion  the  bare 
wire  is  wound  with  silk,  as  the  latter  takes  up  less  space  than  the  tape. 
After  the  silk  has  been  covered  with  insulation  the  coil  is  ready  to  be 
returned  to  the  slot.  During  the  operation  of  heating  with  the  torch  the 
adjacent  wires  are  protected  by  fiber  barriers.  Field  coils  also  can  be 
spliced  in  this  way,  and  the  same  method  used  to  solder  the  ends  of 
successive  reels  of  wire. 

Portable  Transformer  for  Testing  Armatures. — At  the  Homewood 
shops  of  the  Pittsburgh  Railways  a  convenient  mounting  has  been 
designed  and  built  for  an  alternating-current  magnet  coil  testing  set, 
used  to  detect  short-circuited  armature  coils.  The  curved  pole  piece 
and  coil  are  bolted  to  the  top  cross-piece  of  an  ordinary  two-wheeled 
warehouse  truck.  The  iron  shoe  on  the  bottom  of  the  truck  is  bent  back- 
ward so  that  the  frame  of  the  truck  will  stand  vertically  when  tipped  up. 
Armatures  under  repair  are  mounted  on  wooden  horses,  which  are  of 
such  a  height  that  when  the  transformer  truck  is  tipped  up  the  center 
of  the  pole-piece  is  exactly  opposite  the  center  line  of  the  armature  shaft. 
The  armature  shop  is  wired  for  60-cycle  current  incandescent  drop  lamps 
over  each  armature  horse  and  by  connecting  the  testing  coil  to  one  of  the 
lamp  sockets  suitable  current  is  instantly  available.  Transformers  of 
this  kind  are  frequently  mounted  on  a  frame  equipped  with  castors,  but 
the  attachment  of  the  transformer  to  an  ordinary  warehouse  truck  makes 
it  a  very  convenient  outfit  for  transportation  around  the  shop. 

Broken  Commutator  Leads.  Question. — We  operate  about  40  miles 
of  inter  urban  road  and  try  to  keep  up  everything  in  first-class  shape  but 
have  a  great  deal  of  trouble  with  armature  leads  breaking  off.  We  have 
found  that  some  of  our  armature  cores  were  loose,  and  this  no  doubt 
caused  some  of  the  trouble,  but  we  have  considerable  trouble  even  with 
armatures  that  are  almost  new  and  in  cases  in  which  we  are  positive  that 
the  commutators  and  the  laminations  are  tight  on  the  shaft.  We  have 
been  exceedingly  careful  in  placing  the  leads  in  the  commutator  slots  not 
to  hammer  or  bend  them  too  short  back  of  the  commutator,  but  still  have 
more  trouble  than  we  should.  We  might  add  that  we  use  a  very  soft 
copper  wire.  Our  equipment  consists  of  Westinghouse  No.  56  and  No.  76 


120  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

motors  and  is  operated  from  both  ends  of  the  car.  We  should  appreciate 
it  very  much  if  you  would  give  us  an  idea  as  to  what  is  causing  the  trouble. 

Answer. — The  most  common  causes  of  broken  armature  leads  are 
loose  laminations  and  loose  commutators.  In  the  two  types  of  armatures 
which  you  mention  the  laminations  are  mounted  directly  on  the  shaft 
and  are  much  more  liable  to  become  loose  than  on  a  type  of  armature 
with  spider  construction  with  laminations  mounted  on  it.  If  the  commu- 
tator and  laminations  are  tight,  the  cause  of  the  trouble  is  probably  in 
the  material  or  method  employed  in  rewinding  armatures.  When  coils 
are  being  prepared  and  placed  in  the  slots  the  leads  are  often  bent  back 
and  forth  a  number  of  times,  sometimes  unnecessarily.  Thus,  when  the 
corners  and  ends  of  the  coil  are  being  taped  the  operator  will  often  bend  the 
leads  back  to  make  a  neat  job  of  the  taping.  Then  the  person  who  winds 
the  armature  is  apt  to  bend  the  leads  back  again  to  get  them  out  of  the 
way  while  he  is  bringing  other  leads  down  to  the  commutator.  This  may 
start  a  fracture,  which  is  soon  increased  in  size  by  the  vibration  of  service 
conditions.  When  the  repair  man  is  bringing  the  leads  down  to  the  com- 
mutator he  should  be  careful  to  avoid  sharp  bends.  They  may  make  a 
neater  appearing  armature,  but  wearing  qualities  should  never  be  sacri- 
ficed to  secure  a  good  appearance.  If  the  operating  conditions  are  such  as 
to  produce  severe  vibrations  in  the  motor  parts,  it  may  be  of  advantage 
to  provide  a  support  for  the  leads  between  the  end  of  the  armature  and 
the  commutator.  One  method  that  has  given  good  results  on  other  roads 
is  to  fill  this  space  with  a  mixture  of  powdered  asbestos  and  shellac,  after 
all  leads  are  in  place.  This  material  can  be  forced  in  between  the  leads 
by  the  use  of  a  tube  fitted  with  a  plunger  and  having  one  end  drawn  out 
small  enough  to  enter  between  the  leads.  All  armature  coils  should  be 
tight  in  the  slots.  The  repair  man  should  also  make  certain  that  the 
wedges  are  of  sufficient  thickness  so  that  the  bands  will  come  down  tight 
on  them  and  not  be  resting  on  the  laminations  with  a  space  between  the 
bands  and  the  wedges. 

One  large  road  which  had  a  great  number  of  broken  armature  leads 
has  almost  entirely  done  away  with  trouble  of  this  nature  by  shortening 
the  distance  that  the  leads  are  unsupported.  Previous  to  the  change  the 
leads  left  the  coils  at  the  corners  and  had  no  support  till  the  commutator 
was  reached.  The  change  consisted  of  bending  the  leads  farther  around 
on  the  end  of  the  coil  and  taping  them  in  so  as  to  shorten  the  distance 
to  the  commutator  considerably.  On  armatures  with  leads  going  in 
opposite  directions  this  cannot  be  followed  to  any  great  extent,  but  leads 
going  in  the  same  direction  can  be  taped  together  so  as  to  form  a  support 
for  each  other  and  make  a  more  rigid  construction. 

Sparking  at  Commutators.  Question. — We  are  operating  a  twenty- 
minute  railway  service  with  single-truck  cars,  equipped  with  GE-1000 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING  121 

motors  and  K-10  controllers.  These  cars  are  single  ended  and  have  a 
5  per  cent,  grade  to  climb  within  1/4  mile  of  the  power  house.  The 
voltage  is  500  to  550.  We  have  been  operating  single-ended  cars  for  the 
last  seven  years.  Lately  we  have  had  considerable  trouble  from  sparking 
of  the  commutators  and  arcing  over  to  the  brush  holder,  which  is  at  the 
left  when  one  is  facing  the  commutator.  This  has  happened  so  often 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  keep  a  car  on  this  run.  We  have  tried 
several  remedies  without  avail. 

Answer. — Your  trouble  may  be  due  to  some  defect  in  the  line  or  track 
as  well  as  in  the  car  equipment  itself.  Connect  a  voltmeter  from  trolley 
to  ground  on  one  of  your  cars  and  run  the  car  over  the  line,  noting  care- 
fully any  jumps  in  voltage  that  might  be  caused  by  broken  or  cut  bonds. 
If  your  lines  have  been  extended  without  feeders  it  may  be  that  the  volt- 
age is  low  at  the  end  of  the  lines.  The  increased  current  which  is 
taken  by  the  motors  while  operating  at  the  reduced  voltage  causes  over- 
heating, and  this  results  in  flashing  when  sections  of  higher  voltage  are 
reached. 

Are  the  commutators  or  brush  holders  of  your  motors  worn  to  such  an 
extent  that  you  have  found  it  necessary  to  shim  the  brush  holders?  If 
so,  your  brush  holders  may  not  be  properly  located  with  respect  to  the 
field  coils,  or  they  may  not  be  spaced  the  proper  distance  apart.  Brush 
holder  shunts  should  be  properly  installed  and  care  taken  not  to  allow 
motors  to  operate  without  shunts.  Are  the  commutators  of  your  motors 
tight  or  do  they  show  signs  of  high  mica?  Do  you  slot  your  commutators 
and  are  you  sure  you  are  using  brushes  with  proper  conductivity  to  meet 
your  service  requirements?  Many  roads  have  eliminated  flashing  on 
their  motors  almost  entirely  by  slotting  the  commutators,  using  a  high- 
grade  carbon  brush  and  making  certain  that  the  brush  tension  is  uniform 
and  properly  adjusted  to  meet  their  operating  conditions. 

Correspondent's  Reply. — We  have  tried  the  remedy  of  slotting  the 
commutator  for  brush  sparking,  as  suggested,  and  found  that  the  trouble 
continued,  but  not  nearly  to  the  same  extent  as  before.  The  carhouse 
foreman  then  moved  the  brush  holder  one  bar  against  the  rotation  in 
some  cases,  in  others  as  much  as  three  bars,  and  the  trouble  has  been 
entirely  overcome.  In  fact,  one  car  with  a  slotted  commutator  and  the 
brush  holder  moved  against  the  rotation  has  run  about  7000  miles,  the 
wear  on  the  commutator  cannot  be  felt,  and  the  soft  brushes  we  are 
using  have  worn  down  about  1/32  in. 

Brush-holder  Jigs  at  Providence. — In  Providence  all  brush-holder 
yokes  are  made  to  jigs,  the  latter  being  also  used  to  realign  brush  holders 
which  have  become  distorted  in  service.  The  jigs  include  a  casting  to 
represent  the  brush.  The  block  used  for  testing  the  alignment  of  GE-800 
brush  holders  is  shown  in  an  accompanying  drawing.  Only  well-seasoned 


122 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


wood  is  used  in  brush-holder  yokes  in  order  to  avoid  troubles  from  shrink- 
age.    Brush-holder  yokes  are  shellacked  instead  of  being  paraffined. 

Brush -holder  Jigs  and  Armature  Clearance  Gages  at  Toronto.— 
The  two  lower  drawings  on  this  page  illustrate   the  application   of   a 


NO. 14-20  F.H.MACH. SCREWS 

Block  for  testing  alignment  of  GE-800  brush  holders,  Providence. 

brush-holder  jig  developed  at  Toronto.  This  jig  avoids  all  necessity  for 
counting  the  commutator  bars  to  secure  the  correct  mechanical  and  elec- 
trical assembly  of  the  brush-holder  parts.  The  brush  holders  when 
installed  are  set  for  a  tension  of  4  Ib.  per  square  inch  on  the  brushes,  and 


Brush-holder  jig  used  at  Toronto. 

if  one  holder  should  break  loose  the  entire  yoke  is  returned  to  the  shop 
to  secure  the  most  accurate  adjustment. 

The  same  company  makes  its  armature  bearing  inspections  twice  a 
week  and  furnishes  its  inspectors  with  four  knife-like  gages  about  12  in. 
long  and,  respectively,  1/8  in.,  3/32  in.,  1/16  in.  and  1/32  in.  thick.  The 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING  123 

number  of  every  motor  which  is  found  to  have  a  pole  clearance  as  low  as 
1/32  in.  is  placed  on  a  list  of  " Danger"  cars.  This  list  is  turned  over 
to  the  day  foreman,  who  orders  in  for  new  bearings  all  cars  thus  listed  after 
he  is  through  with  the  disabled  cars  of  the  day. 

Brush -holder  Troubles  (By  W.  C.  Kalb). — Some  of  the  most  trouble- 
some defects  in  railway  motors  are  encountered  in  the  brush  holders,  and 
a  few  of  these  will  be  illustrated  by  sketches.  Fig.  1  illustrates  the 
effect  of  a  loose  brush  holder.  With  the  armature  in  motion  the  brush 
is  shifted  from  the  neutral  in  the  direction  of  rotation.  It  is  well  known 
that  brushes  on  a  motor  should  be  shifted  from  the  mechanical  neutral 
against  the  direction  of  rotation  to  keep  them  in  a  position  of  no  spark- 
ing as  the  load  comes  on,  and  so  it  is  apparent  that  the  effect  of  the  loose 
holder  is  to  make  sparking  more  severe,  as  it  causes  a  shifting  of  the 
brush  in  the  opposite  direction.  Fig.  2  illustrates  a  similar  displacement 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  guide  to  which  the  holder  is  clamped  is  not 


FIG.  1. — Displacement  of    FIG.  2. — Effect  when  holder       FIG.  3. — Effect  of  large 
brush  holder  due  to   loose  is  not  radial.  holder  or  thin  brush  in 

holder.  double-end  operation. 

radial.  The  solid  lines  show  the  position  with  a  full-sized  commutator, 
where  it  is  assumed  that  the  brush  bears  at  the  neutral  point.  The  dotted 
lines  show  the  displacement  when  the  holder  has  been  moved  down  the 
guides  to  accommodate  a  commutator  of  smaller  diameter.  When  the 
brush  holder  is  worn,  too  large  or  too  thin  a  brush  will  lead  to  serious 
trouble.  There  will  then  be  a  displacement  of  the  brush  from  the 
neutral  position,  as  in  the  case  of  a  loose  holder,  resulting  in  increased 
sparking;  but,  in  addition,  serious  wear  and  breakage  of  the  brush  arise, 
especially  where  the  car  is  operated  in  both  directions.  This  is  illus- 
trated in  Fig.  3.  The  minimum  amount  of  play  a  brush  can  have  and 
not  stick  in  the  holder  depends  on  the  maintenance.  Under  good  con- 
ditions 0.005  in.  is  sufficient,  and  it  may  even  be  less  when  the  brush 
and  holder  are  kept  perfectly  clean.  About  1/64  in.  is  the  maximum. 
Thin  brushes  decrease  the  area  of  brush  contact  surface  and  increase  the 
heating  of  the  motor. 

A  copper  coating  does  no  good  on  railway  motor  brushes,  and  often 
does  harm,  for  it  soon  wears  off  and  makes  the  brush  loose  in  the  holder. 
It  is  also  liable  to  peel,  especially  with  graphite  brushes,  and  wedge  the 


124  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

brush  in  the  holder.  The  copper  coating  extends  to  1/4  in.  of  the  bear- 
ing surface  of  the  brush,  and  when  the  brush  is  worn  down  so  that  the 
copper  touches  the  commutator  the  sparking  will  melt  it  into  globular 
form.  These  globules  on  the  side  of  the  brush  will  prevent  it  being  re- 
moved from  the  holder.  Copper  coating  should  be  specified  for  railway 
motor  brushes  only  when  clamp  pigtails  are  used. 

Fig.  4  illustrates  another  faulty  practice  that  is  frequently  encount- 
ered. It  is  the  use  of  a  brush  longer  than  standard  or  a  spring  of  im- 
proper shape,  and  results  in  the  application  of  the  pressure  at  the  corner 

of  the  brush  instead  of  directly  on  the 
top.  The  brush  wears  as  illustrated, 
and  the  shoulder  so  formed  holds  the 
brush  from  making  firm  contact  with 
the  commutator.  Dirty  commutator, 
sparking  and  flashes  are  the  result. 
The  path  of  the  hammer  of  a  brush 

Fig.  4.-Effect  of  brush  longer  than  holder  is  sPiral  and  not  Circular,  and 
standard  or  with  spring  too  short.  ^  is  designed  so  that  the  pressure  will 

be  exerted  on  the  center  of  the  brush 

throughout  its  range  of  wear.  For  this  reason  the  pressure  is  not 
thrown  on  the  edge  of  the  brush  as  it  is  worn  short.  The  proper  length 
of  brush  to  be  used  is  purely  a  matter  of  design.  The  brush  holders 
should  be  kept  from  1/4  in.  to  3/8  in.  away  from  the  surface  of  the  com- 
mutator, otherwise  extra  play  will  result  and  the  chances  for  breakage 
will  be  considerably  increased.  No  definite  rule  can  be  given  for  the 
number  of  commutator  bars  a  brush  should  cover,  since  this  is  purely  a 
matter  of  design.  In  most  cases  it  is  between  two  and  three. 

The  tension  of  brush-holder  springs  should  receive  careful  attention. 
If  too  light,  brushes  will  chatter  under  the  ordinary  jars  of  service  and 
will  not  be  able  to  keep  the  commutator  surface  polished.  If  too  heavy, 
excessive  wear  of  both  commutator  and  brushes  will  result  and  the  fric- 
tion loss  will  be  high.  For  every  road  the  best  value  should  be  deter- 
mined by  experiment,  and  this  value  maintained.  No  general  value  can 
be  given,  as  it  is  dependent  to  a  considerable  extent  on  operating  condi- 
tions; 4  Ib.  to  7  Ib.  per  square  inch  will  cover  the  ordinary  range  of  service. 
Brush  pressure  may  be  measured  by  means  of  a  small  spring  balance 
such  as  can  be  obtained  at  any  sporting  goods  store. 

Some  Brush -holder  Experiences  (By  H.  Schlegel). — The  present  arti- 
cle undertakes  to  give  an  idea  of  what  may  be  expected  and  realized  where 
brush  holders  are  neglected  or  are  maintained  by  incompetent  labor  un- 
guided  by  the  necessary  jigs  and  gages. 

It  can  be  stated  that  a  number  of  supposedly  similar  factory  holders 
subjected  to  gage  tests  showed  slight  differences,  but  in  no  case  observed 


MOTORS f AND  GEARING'  125 

was  the  error  sufficient  to  justify  condemning  the  holder.  New  factory 
holders  will  maintain  the  correct  set  for  months,  because  they  are  made 
of  well-seasoned,  paraffined  wood  and  the  machines  for  making  them  are 
correctly  set  for  turning  out  a  great  number.  This  cannot  be  generally 
said  of  home-made  holders. 

With  brushes  set  properly,  the  brush  tension  can  be  made  light, 
thereby  conducing  to  the  long  life  of  the  commutators  as  well  as  high 
car  mileage  for  the  brushes.  On  a  road  equipped  entirely  with  factory 
output,  troubles  usually  begin  with  flashovers  on  the  road,  or  rough 
handling  in  the  shop  precipitates  the  necessity  for  renewing  or  repairing 
affected  parts.  Independent  holders  of  the  Westinghouse  type  require, 
per  se,  no  gage  nor  jig  further  than  a  square  to  see  that  the  holder  is  not 
bent  or  otherwise  distorted  and  a  plug  to  try  the  brush-way  for  smooth- 
ness, trueness  and  size.  The  angular  frame  grooved  seat  against  which 
the  holder  is  drawn  by  the  holder  stud  is  supposed  to  insure  radiality  of 
the  holder,  assuming  that  the  holder  is  true,  and  repair  men  are  strongly 
impressed  with  the  desirable  feature  of  adjustment.  Unfortunately  this 
impression  as  generally  received  must  be  qualified,  because  drawing  the 
holder  down  to  its  seat  in  the  customary  careless  manner  by  no  means 
insures  proper  adjustment  and  radiality  of  the  brushes:  this  is  on  ac- 
count of  the  roundness  and  obtuseness  of  the  engaging  angles  on  the 
holder  and  babbitted  holder  seat.  Assuming  the  holder  seat  and  insu- 
lating washer  to  be  correct  and  free  from  burrs,  bumps,  swells  and  for- 
eign matter  that  would  throw  the  holder  out  of  line,  if  while  tightening 
the  stud  the  holder  be  lightly  shaken  from  side  to  side,  it  will  draw  down 
into  its  true  seat,  and  inspection  of  a  new  brush  against  which  the  com- 
mutator has  been  rotated  will  indicate  the  line  of  bearing  contact  to  be 
down  the  center  of  the  brush.  On  holders  of  the  independent  type  a  line 
down  the  bearing  surface  of  a  new  brush  or  perfectly  square  wear  of  the 
old  brushes  is  an  indication  of  correct  position  of  the  brushes  on  the 
commutator.  On  holders  of  the  yoke  type  this  is  not  so  because  brushes 
are  often  square  with  each  other,  have  the  correct  spacing  and  make 
full  contact  with  the  commutator,  but  both  are  too  far  over  in  one  direc- 
tion or  the  other,  thereby  causing  the  brushes  to  spark  for  one  direction 
of  motion  of  the  car  but  not  for  the  other.  If  the  line  of  contact  is  in 
the  center  of  bearing  of  the  brushes,  the  adjustment  may  be  accepted  as 
correct. 

If  no  special  precaution  is  taken  to  have  the  apexes  of  the  holder,  insu- 
lator and  babbitted  seat  coincide,  on  drawing  home  the  brush-holder 
stud  these  parts  will  bind  slightly  on  the  diagonal  and  thereby  throw  the 
brushes  as  much  as  one  and  one-half  bars  out  of  the  way,  with  sparking 
as  a  result.  If  the  babbitted  seat  is  not  true  or  the  insulation  washer 
is  not  of  uniform  thickness,  the  brush  adjustment  will  be  in  error.  The 


126 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


only  way  to  get  the  seats  absolutely  true  is  to  use  a  babbitting  jig,  pref- 
erably obtained  from  the  factory;  after  securing  a  correct  jig  it  should 
not  be  thrown  around  and  allowed  to  lie  where  it  will  be  run  into  by  a 
truck  or  barrow,  or  where  a  motor  will  be  let  down  onto  it  from  a  hoist — a 
jig  that  is  wrong  is  worse  than  no  jig  at  all  because  it  is  misleading.  Where 
a  holder  is  so  distorted  as  to  throw  the  brushes  across  the  commutator 
(Fig.  1)  out  of  parallel  with  the  commutator  bars,  or  one  end  of  the  holder 
is  further  from  the  commutator  than  the  other  (Fig.  2),  the  brushes  are 
caused  to  wear  more  on  one  end  than  on  the  other  and  may  confine  the 
current  to  an  area  unable  to  carry  it  without  sparking — the  first  impulse 
of  the  average  repair  man  is  to  straighten  the  holder. 


Com. 


I    Brush 


Fig.  1. 


.Fig.  2. 


Before  changing  a  holder  in  any  way,  proper  steps  should  be  taken 
to  ascertain  if  the  faulty  setting  of  the  brushes  is  or  is  not  due  to  irregu- 
larity in  the  holder  itself.  Under  no  circumstances  should  a  holder  be  al- 
tered until  it  is  proved  to  be  wrong.  A  simple  way  to  localize  the  fault 
is  to  substitute  a  factory  holder  that  is  known  to  be  right  and  that  is 
reserved  just  for  checking  the  condition  of  suspected  holders.  If  the 
standard  holder  sets  right,  then  the  fault  is  with  the  suspected  holder  that 
is  replaced;  but  if  the  standard  gives  the  same  evidence  of  error,  the  irregu- 
larity must  be  elsewhere — either  in  the  babbitted  brushing  or  insulating 
washer.  In  either  case  correction  there  means  that  distortion  of  the 
holder  by  bending  to  straighten  (?)  it  has  been  wisely  avoided.  In  test- 
ing the  adjustment  of  any  holder,  care  must  be  taken  to  see  that  the 
stud  bolt  is  drawn  sufficiently  tight  to  draw  all  parts  firmly  to  their 
seats,  otherwise  an  apparent  error  in  adjustment  will  be  due  to  the  opera- 
tor and  not  to  the  holder.  At  times  a  holder  will  be  found  actually  to 
need  straightening — probably  foolishly  bent  on  a  former  occasion  when 
the  fault  was  really  elsewhere. 

Another  popular  way  of  abusing  the  Westinghouse  type  of  indepen- 
dent holder  is  to  use  a  hammer  and  chisel  for  forcing  the  holder  up  or  down 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING 


127 


on  the  insulating  head  when  it  is  desired  to  move  the  holder  in  or  out 
in  accordance  with  commutator  wear.  This  treatment  burrs  or  swells 
the  brass  holder  into  the  insulator,  thereby  so  much  increasing  the  inter- 
ference between  them  that  in  future  adjustments  the  holder  must  be  re- 
moved from  the  motor — a  feat  that  cannot  always  be  accomplished  with- 
out opening  the  motor  frame.  Such  holders  will  go  unadjusted  out  in  the 
operating  house,  where  the  importance  of  a  brush  adjustment  is  not  gener- 
ally acknowledged  and  where  the  general  topography  of  the  lower  part 
of  many  cars  may  be  such  that  it  is  impossible  to  adjust  holders  un- 
less that  can  be  done  easily.  For  purposes  of  adjustment  where  the 
holder  strongly  resists  being  moved  in  or  out  on  the  insulating  head  a 
pair  of  tongs  similar  to  those  used  by  a  blacksmith  to  hold  4-in.  to  5-in. 


Fig.  3. 

stock  can  be  used  to  advantage.  The  handles  must  be  about  5  ft.  long 
and  the  jaws  shaped  to  suit  the  space  conditions  around  the  holder. 
To  use  this  tool  (Fig.  3)  one  jaw  of  the  tongs  is  rested  on  the  insulator  and 
the  other  on  the  brass  part  of  the  holder,  pressure  being  then  exerted  by 
resting  one  handle  against  the  shoulder  and  pulling  on  the  other;  it 
takes  a  very  obstreperous  holder  to  withstand  this  pressure. 

On  all  yoke  types  of  holder  the  most  prolific  source  of  error  is  in  the 
yoke  itself,  for  if  the  yoke  is  wrong  in  the  first  place  it  will  stay  wrong 
and  become  worse,  because  where  the  proper  precautions  are  not  taken 
to  prevent  the  yoke  from  shrinking  as  a  result  of  the  heat  to  which  it  is 
exposed,  it  will  shrink  and  put  the  brushes  in  error.  The  guide  mount- 
ings are  also  qualified  to  give  much  trouble.  In  some  shops  the  guides 
on  which  the  holders  slide  are  bought  finished  and  then  mounted  on  the 
yoke;  in  other  shops  the  rough  castings  are  bought,  then  mounted  on  the 
yoke  and  afterward  milled  in  position.  Either  method  can  be  carried  to 
successful  results  if  proper  care  is  taken,  but  it  is  very  hard  to  maintain 
necessary  care  where  the  demand  for  holders  is  insufficient  to  warrant  per- 
manent setting  up  of  the  machines  engaged  in  their  making.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  keep  the  output  from  gradually  drifting  into  error,  assuming 
that  all  conditions  are  correct  in  the  first  place.  As  stated  before, 
unless  a  great  deal  of  care  is  taken  to  get  thoroughly  seasoned  wood  and 


128  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

so  to  treat  it  that  it  will  not  afterward  absorb  water,  the  resulting  holders 
will  warp,  and  almost  imperceptible  warpage  in  the  holder  itself  will  in- 
troduce appreciable  error  in  the  set  of  the  brushes  several  inches  away 
(Fig.  4).  The  same,  in  effect,  is  true  of  the  holders  and  the  guides  on 
which  they  slide.  If  the  guides  are  not  adjusted  to  a  true  right  angle  with 
the  apex  at  the  center  of  the  armature,  then  the  brush-count  will  in- 
crease or  decrease  with  commutator  wear,  according  as  the  apex  is 
above  or  below  the  armature  center.  An  error  in  the  angle  that  the 
holders  make  with  each  other  due  to  irregularity  in  the  position  of  the 
guides  is  multiplied  at  the  points  where  the  brushes  bear  on  the  com- 
mutator. Where  the  finished  guides  are  mounted  on  the  yoke,  there 
is  liable  to  be  error  in  the  mounting;  where  the  rough  guides  are 
mounted  in  the  yoke  and  then  machined,  there  can  easily  be  error  in 
the  milling,  either  as  a  result  of  the  machine  being  set  up  wrong  or  of  the 
yoke  being  flimsily  supported  so  that  the  cut  runs  off  at  the  end,  thereby 
producing  a  holder  with  curved  guides  (Fig.  5).  If  the  guides  are  fin- 
ished too  narrow  for  the  guideways  on  the  holder,  there  results  play 
which  will  introduce  error  in  the  set;  if  the  guides  are  finished  too  wide 
for  the  guideways  in  the  holder,  it  will  be  impossible  either  to  install  the 


/ 


Fig.  4.  Fig.  5.  Fig.  6. 

holder  on  the  guide  or  it  will  be  installed  against  an  interference  that 
not  only  will  give  the  brushes  the  wrong  set  but  will  so  distort  the  guide- 
ways  that  they  will  have  no  precision  in  future.  If  the  yoke  goes  out 
to  a  depot  where  everything  that  is  done  is  done  in  a  hurry  and  with  no 
room  nor  light  for  working,  the  probabilities  are  that  the  holder  will  earn 
its  right  to  the  scrap  pile. 

Where  the  guide  is  too  wide  for  the  guide-way,  the  tendency  to  file 
again  asserts  itself;  in  a  depot  this  may  be  the  only  practicable  way  to 
get  a  much-needed  car  on  the  road;  but  in  the  shop  no  filing  should  be 
done  until  proper  gaging  shows  which  part  is  in  error.  It  must  be  borna 
in  mind  that  not  only  must  the  guides  make  a  right  angle  with  each 
other,  but  their  axes  must  intersect  at  the  center  of  the  armature; 
furthermore  the  axes  must  make  equal  angles  with  a  line  drawn  to  in- 
tersect the  armature  center  and  the  center  of  the  line  of  support  of  the 
holder  (Fig.  6),  otherwise  the  brushes  will  spark  in  one  direction  of 
movement  of  the  car  but  not  in  the  other. 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING  129 

Assuming  that  the  guides  test  to  a  true  angle  and  that  they  are  lo- 
cated symmetrically  with  regard  to  the  center  line  but  'that  on  fitting 
them  with  holders,  putting  them  in  a  motor  and  counting  the  set  the 
brushes  prove  to  be  too  far  apart,  the  only  thing  to  do  is  to  reject  the 
holder  for  correction.  If,  however,  the  error  is  such  as  to  bring  the 
brushes  too  close  together,  their  distance  apart  can  be  increased  to  al- 
most any  reasonable  degree  (and  without  introduction  of  other  errors)  by 
inserting  between  the  holder  supporting  bracket  and  the  machined  seat 
that  it  engages  on  the  upper  shell  a  fiber  liner  that  is  effective  in  moving 
the  holder  bodily  downward.  Before  tightening  the  holder  yoke,  the 
holders  must  be  loosened,  because  lowering  the  yoke  moves  them  closer 
to  the  commutator,  and  if  the  yoke  is  tightened  with  the  holders  bearing 
on  the  commutator,  the  results  will  be  misleading.  The  practicability 
of  so  correcting  a  faulty  brush  set  is  convenient  in  depot  practice,  but 
is  not  to  be  used  in  shop  work.  A  yoke  issuing  from  the  shop  should  be 
per  se  correct  in  every  respect.  Such  a  feature  suggests  the  possibility 
of  error  coming  in  as  a  result  of  the  brush-holder  supporting  bracket  be- 
ing planed  off  too  much  or  too  little  (Fig.  7),  the  effect  being  to  move 

Too  high-j 

Correct  -^., f-- 

Straight  edge 


•Yoke 


Fig.  7.  Fig.  8. 

bodily  the  yoke  and  holders  nearer  to  the  center  of  the  armature  or  fur- 
ther from  it,  thereby  introducing  variations  in  the  brush  set.  Unless 
great  care  is  taken  to  mill  the  seat  of  the  supporting  bracket  correctly  the 
result  will  be  to  introduce  error  in  a  yoke  that  is  otherwise  all  right. 
To  illustrate  the  importance  of  this  feature,  it  may  be  stated  as  a  fact 
that  a  yoke  and  holders  that  give  the  correct  brush  adjustment  when  the 
armature  bearings  are  new  will  bring  the  brushes  too  close  when  the  bear- 
ings are  worn,  because  such  wear  lowers  the  commutator  bodily,  thereby 
causing  the  brush-holder  axes  to  intersect  at  a  point  above  the  center  of 
the  armature.  The  effect  of  bearing  wear  is  most  noticeable  on  motors  the 
armature  bearings  of  which  are  babbitted  above  the  center  to  increase 
the  life  of  the  bearings.  The  change  of  brush  adjustment  may  amount 
to  as  much  as  three-quarters  of  a  bar.  Brushes  that  are  three-quarters 
of  a  bar  too  close  together  will  give  more  trouble  than  those  three-quarters 
of  a  bar  too  far  apart;  in  fact,  in  one  case  within  the  writer's  knowl- 
edge the  behavior  of  a  lot  of  GE-1000  motors,  that  were  being  abused, 
was  much  improved  by  setting  the  brushes  more  than  a  half-bar  too  far 
apart. 


130  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

In  counting  off  the  set  of  brushes  it  is  important  that  the  brushes  rest 
parallel  to  the  commutator  bars,  otherwise  an  error  in  count  is  liable  to 
obtain.  The  usual  cause  of  error  in  parallelism  is  that  the  machined 
bosses  (a,  a,  Fig.  5)  against  which  the  brush-holder  guideways  bear  are 
not  in  the  same  plane.  On  old  yokes  this  may  be  due  to  the  yoke  hav- 
ing warped  into  a  curved  shape:  the  only  treatment  for  such  a  yoke 
is  to  discard  it.  On  new  yokes  the  guides  may  be  milled  unevenly  or 
they  may  set  on  the  yoke  unevenly;  in  any  of  these  cases  the  effect  is 
to  have  the  brushes  set  crossways  on  the  commutator  bars,  with  the  re- 
sult that  the  brush,  instead  of  short-circuiting  two  or  three  bars,  will 
short-circuit  from  three  to  five  bars  and  produce  sparking  in  both  di- 
rections. The  test  for  evenness  of  the  bosses  on  which  the  guideways 
rest  is  to  lay  a  straight  edge  across  them;  the  straight  edge  should  touch l 
every  boss  (Fig.  8) .  In  milling  the  bosses  in  position,  care  must  be  taken 
that  the  yoke  sets  level  so  that  the  same  amount  may  be  cut  from  the 
bosses  on  both  sides  of  the  holder.  In  trying  a  complete  yoke  in  a  mo- 
tor to  count  off  the  brush  set  clean  the  frame  seat  against  which  the 
supporting  bracket  bears,  because  dirt  or  the  remains  of  a  liner  formerly 
used  there  will  cause  error  in  the  set. 

Tests  of  a  large  number  of  carbon  brushes  show  that  the  variations 
in  their  thickness  are  considerable,  especially  in  the  case  of  brushes 
from  different  makers.  It  would  be  well,  therefore,  to  have  brush-ways 
and  brushes  of  uniform  thickness,  and  to  this  end  gages  should  be  used; 
if  a  brush  is  wrong,  change  it  or  use  one  the  thickness  of  which  is  known 
to  be  right.  If  the  brush- way  is  too  narrow,  inspection  may  reveal  some 
local  imperfection  which  may  possibly  be  readily  corrected.  If  the  brush- 
way  is  too  wide,  the  holder  should  be  discarded,  because  where  there 
is  too  much  play  between  the  brush  and  way  the  bearing  surface  of  the 
brush  wears  to  two  surfaces  at  angles  to  each  other — one  surface  for  each 
direction  of  rotation,  and  not  only  changing  the  brush  set  but  reducing 
the  bearing  contact  to  a  degree  that  may  cause  the  brush  to  heat. 
Brushes  also  may  be  thicker  on  one  end  than  on  the  other,  so  that  the 
brush  may  show  some  clearance  when  first  installed,  but  as  it  gets  shorter 
from  wear  and  the  thick  end  enters  the  holder  there  ensues  a  binding 
action  certain  to  result  eventually  in  a  flashover.  Excessive  clearance 
between  the  brush  and  brush-way  is  especially  liable  to  cause  trouble 
where  no  attention  is  given  to  adjusting  the  distance  or  clearance  be- 
tween the  holder  and  the  commutator.  This  distance  should  be  the 
least  that  will  allow  the  holder  to  clear  everything.  On  many  neglected 
armatures  in  which  wear  in  the  thrust  collars  permits  excessive  end  play, 
it  is  not  practicable  to  run  the  brushes  as  near  as  they  should  because 
when  the  armature  pulls  over  to  the  commutator  end  the  holder  will 
strike  the  commutator  ear.  Such  a  condition  is  generally  indicated  by 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING  131 

a  brush  hanging  over  the  end  of  the  commutator  or  resting  too  far  from  it, 
and  should  be  tested  by  forcing  the  armature  as  far  as  possible  in  both  di- 
rections to  determine  the  end  play;  in  any  case  an  armature  with  exces- 
sive end  play  should  not  be  passed.  A  satisfactory  clearance  between 
the  holder  and  commutator  is  1/8  in.  Satisfactory  end  play  is  1/32 
in.  when  the  armature  is  hot  and  the  motor  cold.  It  is  not  uncommon 
to  see  the  holders  in  a  motor  just  from  the  factory  almost  1/2  in.  from 
the  commutator. 

Another  important  feature  much  neglected  is  brush  tension,  that 
is,  the  tension  of  the  springs  that  press  the  brushes  down  on  the  com- 
mutator. We  are  not  in  a  position  to  recommend  just  what  the  brush 
tension  per  square  inch  of  bearing  surface  should  be,  but  feel  safe  in 
saying  that  on  a  good  rail  and  with  brush  adjustment  in  all  respects 
correct  it  need  not  exceed  5  Ib.  per  square  inch.  On  rough  rail  abetted 
by  absence  of  regard  for  brush  inspection,  the  brush  tension  must  be 
strong,  otherwise  brushes  will  jounce  at  joints  and  cause  flashovers. 
When  one  knows  that  motors  of  the  same  capacity  shipped  to  the  same 
service  by  different  companies  vary  as  much  as  50  per  cent,  in  the  ten- 
sion, it  is  hardly  doubtful  but  that  difference  of  opinion  to  be  respected 
exists  in  regard  to  what  the  tension  should  be.  All  tension  in  excess 
of  what  is  needed  is  expended  in  causing  useless  wear  of  commutator 
and  brushes;  brush  tension,  then,  is  evidently  a  condition  worth  con- 
sidering. While  the  absolute  tension  per  square  inch  under  given  con- 
ditions may  be  an  open  question,  there  is  no  excuse  for  having  the  ten- 
sion of  one  brush  on  a  motor  2  Ib.  and  that  on  the  other  6  Ib.  per  square 
inch.  There  might  be  some  difference  in  the  tension  to  be  recommended 
on  holders  of  different  types,  because  some  are  more  effective  than 
others;  but  this  difference  is  not  nearly  as  great,  so  far  as  the  writer  has 
been  able  to  observe,  as  the  differences  that  exist  on  the  different  brushes 
of  the  same  motors  where  this  feature  has  been  neglected  for  years. 
As  an  instance,  take  the  cases  of  springs  of  the  kind  used  on  the  old 
No.  3  and  the  later  No.  68  Westinghouse  motors;  these  give  satisfac- 
tion and  have  done  so  for  a  long  time  or  they  would  have  been  dis- 
carded. Where  the  spring  is  properly  assembled  and  installed  there  is 
but  slight  variation  in  pressure  between  the  two  positions  occupied  by 
the  finger  when  the  brush  is  new  and  when  it  has  been  allowed  to  wear 
a  safe  amount;  but  if  the  contact  finger  is  so  made  or  so  fastened  to  the 
spring  that  when  winding  up  the  spring  to  get  the  proper  tension  the 
hump  in  the  finger  is  caused  to  bear  against  the  side  of  the  brush  in- 
stead of  the  top  the  force  component  tending  to  press  the  brush  to  the 
commutator  is  small  and  a  much  greater  total  tension  must  be  used. 
In  getting  this  greater  tension  the  tip  is  liable  to  be  drawn  over  so  far 
as  to  leave  no  finger  room  on  the  end  for  raising  the  finger.  On  brush 


132  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

holders  of  the  General  Electric  type,  using  the  spiral  spring,  once  the 
proper  tension  (hence  the  proper  size  and  composition  of  wire)  has  been 
selected,  steps  should  be  taken  to  maintain  this  selection,  otherwise  springs 
of  various  kinds,  sizes  and  characteristics  will  creep  into  repair  practice 
and  cause  changes  in  brush  tension. 

Finally,  a  word  about  the  number  of  brushes  to  be  used  in  each  holder. 
There  are  good  motors  with  two  brushes  per  holder  and  there  are  seem- 
ingly just  as  good  motors  with  one  brush  per  holder.  The  writer  may 
be  prejudiced  in  favor  of  two  brushes  because  he  once  saw  a  lot  of  hill- 
climbing  motors  cured  of  bucking  by  substituting  two  brushes  for  one; 
but  aside  from  prepossession  in  their  favor,  common  sense  seems  to  be 
on  the  side  of  using  two  brushes  per  holder.  Two  brushes  certainly 
better  tend  to  equalize  general  faults  of  adjustment  and  to  secure  a  fairly 
good  brush  contact  under  conditions  not  to  be  obtained  with  a  single  brush. 
When  a  single  brush  is  stuck  in  one  place  it  usually  might  just  as  well 
be  stuck  all  over.  With  a  single  brush  the  effect  of  uneven  brush  ten- 
sion on  its  two  sides  increases  with  age;  with  double  brushes  it  remains 
the  same.  The  fact  that  the  manufacturing  companies  have  practically 
adopted  the  double  brush  would  leave  little  doubt  as  to  which  is  considered 
the  best;  yet  the  operating  companies  in  possession  of  motors  provided 
with  single  brushes  do  not  seem  to  be  in  any  particular  hurry  to  change. 
From  the  depot  man's  point  of  view  consider  a  single  wide  brush  with 
two  contact  fingers  that  do  not  stay  raised;  the  brush  man  has  to  hold 
up  both  of  them  in  order  to  withdraw  or  insert  a  brush.  With  the  ten- 
sion twice  what  it  should  be,  the  motor  hot  and  the  brush  man  in  a  posi- 
tion representing  a  compromise  between  rope  walking  and  piano  moving, 
evidence  indicates  that  the  pleasure  is  not  all  his  and  that  those  brushes 
will  not  be  renewed  any  oftener  than  they  need  be;  generally  he  will 
use  his  gas  tongs  to  hold  the  fingers  up  and  in  doing  so  he  runs  the 
chances  of  getting  a  burn  or  shock.  We  consider  it  an  advantage  to 
have  brush-holder  fingers  that  have  no  neutral  position  because  it  is  im- 
practicable to  leave  them  up.  Where  the  brush  is  split  it  is  easy  to 
hold  up  the  fingers  one  at  a  time.  Where  a  single  brush  is  wide  and  has 
two  fingers  that  have  no  neutral  position  renewals  will  be  made  as  often 
as  they  should  be. 

Theoretically,  on  a  four-pole  machine  the  correct  spacing  of  the 
brushes  is  one-quarter  of  the  circumference  of  the  commutator.  Calling 
a  bar  and  its  mica  body  a  unit,  a  circumferential  count  from  the  cen- 
ter of  one  brush  to  the  center  of  the  next  should  include  one-quarter 
of  the  total  number  of  units.  On  railway  motors  it  would  be  impractic- 
able to  count  from  center  to  center,  so  the  count  is  made  from  the  in- 
side edge  of  one  brush  to  the  inside  edge  of  the  next  one;  this  is  seen  to 
be  one-quarter  of  the  total  number  of  units  less  the  number  of  units  cov- 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING  133 

ered  by  two  half  brushes.  Assuming  the  brush  holder  to  be  strictly  cor- 
rect, as  the  commutator  wears,  the  count  between  brush  centers  remains 
the  same,  but  the  count  between  inside  edges  becomes  slightly  less  be- 
cause the  bars  get  thinner  and  two  half  brushes  cover  more  units  to 
be  subtracted.  This  difference  is  insufficient  to  make  any  practical 
difference  except  when  the  data  are  being  collected  for  making  a  gage 
or  jig. 

Field  Testing  at  Brooklyn. — In  the  field-testing  apparatus  of  the 
Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  System  illustrated  the  principle  of  the  trans- 
former is  used.  The  field  under  test  acts  as  a  secondary  and  a  coil  made 
up  of  eighty-one  turns  of  No.  5  D.  C.  C.  wire  acts  as  a  primary.  The 
primary  coil  receives  current  from  a  small  110-volt,  35-cycle  generator, 
which  is  driven  directly  from  the  main  shaft.  This  coil  also  has  a  40-amp. 
circuit-breaker,  an  ammeter  and  a  90-amp.  double-pole,  single-throw 
switch  in  series.  First  the  reading  of  the  ammeter  is  noted  when  the 
switches  are  closed  and  without  a  field  coil  in  position  for  testing,  this 
reading  corresponding  to  the  primary  current  of  the  transformer  when  the 
secondary  is  open  circuited;  or  this  will  be  the  reading  of  the  ammeter 
when  the  field  coil  under  test  is  in  good  condition  and  without  short 
circuits.  A  reading  higher  than  this  normal  reading  indicates  that  the 
field  coil  has  a  short  circuit,  the  reading  varying  in  accordance  with  the 
number  of  turns  thus  short  circuited.  If  the  current  is  maintained  for 
a  while,  the  point  of  short  circuit  will  be  indicated  by  the  additional 
heating  of  that  portion  of  the  coil.  In  testing  for  open  circuits  one 
terminal  of  the  coil  is  grounded  and  a  light  circuit  is  put  on  the  other 
terminal.  The  burning  of  the  lamps,  of  course,  will  show  the  absence 
of  open  circuits. 

The  construction  of  the  field-testing  outfit  consists  of  the  parts  shown 
in  an  accompanying  drawing.  The  framework  part,  A,  is  made  of  wood. 
Part  B  is  a  slate  panel,  20  in.Xll  1/2  in. XI  in.,  on  which  the  circuit- 
breaker,  ammeter  and  switch  are  mounted.  Parts  C,  H  and  D,  which 
comprise  the  magnetic  circuit,  are  made  up  of  several  thicknesses  of 
1/32-in.  wrought  iron  dipped  in  shellac.  After  the  shellac  is  dried,  the 
laminations  are  placed  between  the  two  1/4-in.  side  pieces  and  riveted 
together.  The  primary  coil  is  made  up  of  eighty-one  turns  of  No.  5 
B.  &  S.  D.  C.  C.  wire  with  twenty-seven  turns  between  T-l  and  T-2  and 
eighty-one  turns  between  T-l  and  jT-3.  Part  E  is  a  cast-iron  counter- 
weight 6  5/8  in.  in  diameter  and  6  in.  wide  which  assists  in  raising  part 
D  and  also  in  keeping  it  in  the  upper  position  while  a  field  coil  is  being 
placed  in  position  for  testing  or  while  one  is  being  removed.  The  arms, 
part  F,  are  made  of  1/2-in.  X2-in.  flat  iron,  are  bolted  to  part  D,  have  the 
counterweight  attached  at  the  other  end  and  are  free  to  turn  on  a  pin. 
Part  D  and  counterweight  E  thus  revolve  on  the  same  pin,  which  is 


134 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


supported  by  two  brackets,  one  on  each  of  the  upright  members  of  the 
wooden  frame. 

To  test  a  field  coil,  D  is  raised  and  the  field  coil  is  slipped  over  H. 
D  is  then  lowered,  in  which  position  it  rests  on  H  and  C.  After  the  field 
coil  is  in  position  and  D  has  been  lowered,  the  circuit-breaker  and  switch 


t. 


Field-testing  outfit,  Brooklyn. 

are  closed,  thus  sending  alternating  current  through  the  primary  coil. 
The  terminals  of  the  field  coil  under  test  should  be  entirely  free  and  not 
connected  together. 

A  transformer  box  is  used  for  testing  windings  for  any  potential  up  to 
6000  volts.  The  500-volt  d.c.  lighting  circuit  is  used  for  testing  individual 
coils  before  they  are  assembled. 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING 


135 


Armature  Testing  at  Brooklyn. — A  very  important  factor  in  the  reduc- 
tion of  maintenance  costs  on  the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  System  has 
been  the  installation  of  equipments  for  testing  fields,  armatures,  heaters, 


jumper  connections,  circuit-breakers,  etc.  The  most  elaborate  installa- 
tion of  this  kind  is  the  armature  outfit  for  testing  poor  soldering,  commu- 
tator short  circuits,  or  short  circuits  in  the  armature  itself.  The  equip- 


10 


136  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

ment  comprises  a  rheostatic  controller,  a  set  of  car  resistances  which  give 
any  desired  amount  of  current  from  8  amp.  to  300  amp.  in  order  to  include 
the  currents  used  by  the  motors  in  service,  an  ammeter  to  measure 
the  current  going  through  the  armature  coils  and  a  millivoltmeter  to  note 
the  drop  between  commutator  bars.  By  passing  an  operating  current 
through  the  armature  it  is  possible  to  discover  such  defects  as  would 
otherwise  develop  after  the  armature  had  been  placed  in  service  on  the 
car,  namely,  melting  of  poorly  soldered  connections  and  the  burning  off 
of  abraded  wires.  By  permitting  the  armature  to  receive  exactly  the 
same  current  as  if  it  was  installed  between  the  fields  of  its  motor,  the 
practical  benefits  of  an  actual  test  on  the  car  are  obtained  without  the 
inconvenience  of  removing  and  replacing  an  armature  which  might  prove 
defective. 

The  connections  of  the  armature-testing  outfit  are  indicated  in  the 
accompanying  wiring  diagram.  The  adjustment  of  the  brush  holders 
for  any  size  commutator  is  obtained  by  means  of  two  slots  in  the  board 
through  which  the  terminals  are  connected  to  the  brush  holders.  A 
shelf  above  the  armature  stand  is  used  for  trying  out  and  adjusting 
circuit-breakers.  Circuit-breakers  used  on  four-motor  equipments  are 
set  to  blow  at  325  amp.,  and  those  on  two-motor  equipments  are  set 
at  275  amp.  Armatures  of  compressor  motors  are  given  a  running  test 
by  installing  them  in  a  compressor  located  near  the  field-testing  outfit. 
As  this  compressor  is  furnished  with  a  split  frame,  the  armatures  are 
taken  in  and  out  very  readily. 

Armature  Testing  at  Cincinnati. — At  the  shops  of  the  Cincinnati 
Traction  Company,  the  armature  winders  make  their  own  tests  before 
placing  a  completed  armature  in  the  shop  stock,  and  the  assistant  foreman 
makes  the  final  test.  All  new  work  is  tested  at  2500  volts  and  all  repair 
work  at  1500  volts.  All  new  armature  work  is  paid  for  on  a  piece  basis 
and  the  company  requires  that  it  must  stand  up  in  regular  service  ninety 
days  or  the  workman  who  did  the  winding  will  be  required  to  repair  it 
on  his  own  time.  All  armatures,  after  being  rewound,  are  dipped  and 
rolled  in  a  shallow  tank  filled  with  black  plastic  and  they  are  then  placed 
in  the  oven  and  baked  until  the  plastic  has  thoroughly  dried. 

Motor  Testing  at  the  Indianapolis  Railway  Shops. — Every  car  motor 
that  is  repaired  in  the  Indianapolis  shops  is  given  a  running  test  on  the 
shop  floor  before  it  is  put  under  a  car.  A  table  of  constants  for  the 
current  and  voltage  readings  for  each  type  of  motor  has  been  prepared, 
so  that  when  a  motor  is  being  given  a  test  and  the  current  and  voltage 
values  are  noted  it  then  is  possible  to  determine  fully  whether  or  not  the 
motor  is  running  freely.  If  the  bearings  should  not  have  been  fitted 
properly  the  extra  demand  for  current  will  indicate  the  fact.  By  the 
careful  use  of  testing  methods  many  causes  for  motor  heating  are  learned 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING 


137 


138 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


in  the  shop  where  they  can  be  easily  corrected,  and  unnecessary  pull-ins 
be  prevented. 

The  testing  board  stands  at  one  corner  of  the  truck  repair  shop.  An 
independent  feed  line  direct  from  the  power  house  furnishes  current  to  this 
board.  By  means  of  this  special  connection  the  voltage  regulation 
obtained  at  the  testing  board  is  equal  to  that  of  the  power  station  busbars 
and  is  not  affected  by  the  shifting  of  cars  in  the  shop  yards,  as  it  would  be 
if  the  testing  board  were  fed  from  the  trolley  wire.  The  board  is  equipped 
with  a  100-amp.  ammeter  and  a  600-volt  voltmeter  and  is  protected 
by  a  100-amp.  circuit-breaker.  The  lower  part  of  the  board  carries  eight 
single-pole,  double-throw,  100-amp.  knife  switches  and  a  double-pole 
double-throw  switch,  by  means  of  which  the  various  resistance  grid 
connections  are  made  to  obtain  a  wide  range  of  resistance  values  for 
comparative  purposes.  With  these  connections  a  range  of  resistance 
from  8.42  to  26.48  ohms  in  steps  of  0.25  ohm  and  from  2.12  to  7.38  ohms 


Temperature  records  of  compound  and  vacuum  tanks,  Brooklyn  Impregnation  Plant. 

in  steps  of  0.052  ohm  may  be  obtained  with  facility.  The  controller  is 
R-28.  Testing  current  is  distributed  from  the  board  to  four  parts  of  the 
shops  over  cables  in  iron  conduit.  These  cables  end  just  below  the  test 
board  and  each  has  a  feed  connection  plug.  As  there  is  only  one  live 
socket  to  which  these  plugs  can  be  connected,  it  is  impossible  for  more 
than  one  distributing  line  to  be  alive  at  one  time,  thus  avoiding  accidents. 
Impregnation  of  Field  Coils  at  Brooklyn. — For  two  or  three  years 
previous  to  1910  the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  System  had  in  service 
several  thousand  field  coils  that  were  impregnated  by  the  manufacturers 
of  the  motors.  The  impregnated  coils  proved  so  satisfactory  that  the 
company  decided  to  install  a  plant  of  its  own  at  the  Fifty-second  Street 
shops  which  are  exclusively  for  electrical  work.  This  equipment 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING  139 

consists  of  one  vacuum  and  one  pressure  tank.  The  tanks  of  this  design 
are  heated  by  a  steam  jacket  instead  of  steam  coils,  allowing  them  to  be 
cleaned  with  greater  ease.  No  trouble  had  been  experienced  from 
leakage  of  the  steam  jackets.  This  equipment  has  been  in  operation 
from  June  4,  1910,  and  from  that  date  to  Dec.  31,  1912,  12,817  field  coils, 
or  approximately  73.33  per  cent,  of  a  total  of  17,478  coils,  had  been  im- 
pregnated. Experience  has  convinced  the  company  that  impregnation 
has  easily  paid  for  itself  in  lengthening  the  life  of  the  coils  and  thus 
minimized  their  rewinding. 

An  important  auxiliary  to  each  tank  is  a  recording  thermometer. 
The  dial  of  each  thermometer  bears  an  identification  number  which  is 
also  stamped  on  the  tin  tags  which  are  attached  to  each  field  coil  of  the 
group  impregnated  at  any  given  time.  In  this  way  a  record  of  the  tem- 
perature conditions  which  exist  in  each  tank  at  the  time  the  work  is  done 
is  obtained  so  that  a  possible  clue  is  afforded  to  determine  the  cause 
for  any  trouble  which  an  impregnating  coil  may  develop  later  in  service. 
The  reproductions  on  page  138  of  a  pair  of  these  records  refer  to  the 
impregnation  of  twenty-two  Westinghouse  No.  81  coils  which  were  tagged 
as  part  of  group  407.  The  records  show  the  changes  in  temperature 
from  the  time  the  coils  were  placed  in  the  tank,  5  p.  m.  Feb.  3,  1913, 
to  the  time  they  were  taken  out,  5  p.  m.  the  next  day. 

Impregnation  Practice  at  Anderson,  Ind. — In  connection  with  the 
standard  type  of  impregnating  apparatus  used  at  its  Anderson  shops,  the 
Indiana  Union  Traction  Company  has  arranged  a  gasoline  coil  burner 
around  the  base  of  the  tank.  The  gasoline  supply  is  received  from  a 
sunken  reservoir  outside  the  shop  building  and  is  distributed  under 
pressure  for  this  use  and  for  heating  tires.  The  impregnating  plant  is 
directly  under  the  main  shop  crane. 

The  following  particulars  regarding  the  method  of  operating  this 
vacuum  drying  and  impregnating  plant  may  be  of  interest.  One  of  the 
main  points  which  is  kept  in  view  is  that  of  maintaining  a  uniform  tem- 
perature in  both  of  the  tanks  while  the  compound  is  in  a  liquid  state. 
The  temperature  is  maintained  between  310  and  320  deg.  Fahr.  When 
starting  up  with  a  supply  of  cold  compound  about  15  hours'  time  is 
required  at  the  above  temperatures  to  liquefy  the  compound. 

In  checking  the  temperature  of  the  tank  containing  the  compound 
a  section  of  iron  pipe  with  one  end  plugged  is  used  to  permit  the  insertion 
of  the  thermometer  well  below  the  surface  of  the  insulating  material. 
The  temperature  of  the  vacuum  chamber  is  found  by  inserting  the  ther- 
mometer in  an  oil  pipe  provided  in  the  cover.  It  is  stated  that  the  tem- 
perature of  the  vacuum  chamber  as  thus  found  is  about  40  deg.  below 
that  on  the  inside  of  the  tank  when  the  cover  is  in  place,  so  an  adjustment 
of  40  deg.  is  made.  In  connection  with  the  use  of  gasoline  for  heating, 


140  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

it  is  found  necessary  to  watch  the  temperatures  of  the  tanks  carefully 
when  the  gasoline  supply  tank  outside  the  building  has  been  filled.  For 
a  period  of  about  an  hour  after  this  has  been  done  the  fresh  gasoline 
seems  to  make  a  much  hotter  fire  than  at  other  times. 

Coils  which  are  wound  with  double  cotton-covered  wire  are  insulated 
as  follows:  The  sets  of  coils  are  first  put  in  the  vacuum  chamber  and 
allowed  to  be  heated  to  a  temperature  of  320  deg.  in  about  four  hours' 
time;  then  the  vacuum  pump  is  started  and  the  coils  kept  under  vacuum 
for  three  hours.  Next  the  vacuum  line  is  closed  and  the  large  gate  valve 
between  the  vacuum  tank  and  the  supply  tank  is  opened,  allowing  the 
hot  compound  to  run  into  the  vacuum  chamber  and  submerge  the  coils 
about  6  in.  Next  the  gate  valve  is  closed  and  an  air  pressure  of  60  Ib. 
is  turned  on  for  three  hours.  After  this  treatment  the  air  pressure  is 
reduced  to  15  Ib.,  the  gate  valve  opened  and  the  compound  forced  back 
into  the  liquid  supply  tank.  The  coils  are  then  allowed  to  drain  for 
about  half  an  hour,  when  they  are  taken  out  and  the  layer  of  cheap  cotton 
cloth  which  first  had  been  put  on  as  stripping  is  removed.  This  cloth 
takes  away  with  it  the  excess  compound  and  leaves  the  coils  with  a  smooth 
surface  on  which  the  finishing  insulation  is  placed. 

Motor  Lead  Connections. — All  electric  railways  have  trouble  with 
loose  or  grounded  motor  leads  followed  by  fire.     The  following  simple 
d  d  precautions  will  help  to  avoid  such  trouble: 

_6     On  double-truck  cars  bring  the   cable  taps 
opposite  the  motor  area  subjected  to  the  last 
sweep  on  curves  and  bring  the  motor  termi- 
—&     nals  out  through  this  area  even  if  it  is  neces- 
—6     sary  to  redrill  the  motor  shell.     Use  only  the 
d  d  best  flexible  wire  in  the  leads.     See  that  the 

Motor  lead  connections.         motor  lead  wire  fits  the  mot°r  le.ad  bushing 

and  that  the  bushing  fits  the  hole  in  the  shell. 

As  grease  rots  the  bushing  do  not  use  it  as  a  lubricant  in  pulling  the 
lead  through  the  bushing,  but  employ  soapstone  or  clay. 

Where  special  terminals  are  used,  both  the  cable  taps  and  motor  leads 
must  be  sweated  into  them  and  the  job  tested  by  a  strong  pull.  If 
ordinary  sleeve  connectors  are  used,  they  are  sweated  to  the  cable  taps 
and  the  carefully  prepared  ends  of  the  motor  leads  brought  into  the  other 
ends  of  the  connectors.  To  prepare  the  ends  skin  off  1/2  in.  more  insula- 
tion than  is  apparently  necessary,  so  that  there  will  be  some  wire  to  cut 
off,  and  leave  the  remainder  full  size  clear  to  the  end.  Maintain  the 
original  "lay"  of  the  wires,  dip  in  hot  solder,  cool  and  trim  with  a  file, 
then  cut  off  to  the  proper  length  to  insure  that  both  connector  screws 
shall  have  full  bearing  on  the  wire.  In  connecting,  screw  home  the  inner 
screw  first  and  be  sure  that  the  inner  screw  alone  can  hold  the  wire  against 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING 


141 


a  strong  pull;  then  tighten  the  outer  connecting  screw.  To  get  rid  abso- 
lutely of  all  working  pull  between  the  sleeve  connector  and  any  of  the  con- 
ductors engaging  it,  it  has  been  found  good  practice  to  put  a  four-hole 
wooden  cleat  on  both  sides  of  the  connector,  as  in  the  figure  where  a,  a,  a,  a, 
are  the  cable  taps;  b,  b,  b,  b,  the  motor  leads;  c,  c,  c,  c,  the  connectors, 
and  d-d,  d-d,  the  wooden  spreaders  or  cleats.  The  connectors  can  be 
accessibly  protected  by  short  sleeves  of  flexiduct  or  garden  hose  .which 
can  be  pushed  aside  when  it  may  be  necessary  to  get  at  the  screws  for 
disconnecting. 

Railway  Motor  Connections.  Question. — Will  you  kindly  explain 
how  with  an  ordinary  sewing  needle  and  a  positive  lead  from  a  water 
rheostat  one  can  test  the  polarity  of  the  fields  and  then  that  of  the  arma- 
ture of  any  new  motor  so  that  the  motor  will  rotate  in  the  right  direction 

upon  the  first  application  of  emf? 
There  should  be  some  method  more 
scientific  than  connecting  up  the  field 
with  ground  wire  absolutely  right 
and  taping  the  joints  of  the  same 
but  leaving  the  armature  terminals 
bare  for  reversing  the  connections  in 
case  the  motor  does  run  in  the  wrong 
direction.  After  once  connecting 
any  new  motor,  applying  the  cur- 
rent and  noting  the  direction  of 
rotation,  anyone  should  be  able  to 
figure  out  the  various  connections 
for  all  different  local  conditions.  In  short,  it  should  be  possible  to 
figure  out  the  correct  connections,  then  connect  up  by  all  four  motors, 
tape  the  twenty  connectors,  cleat  the  wires  and  upon  starting  find  that 
all  four  motors  run  correctly. 

I  should  also  like  to  know  why  a  series  motor  when  running  full 
speed  will  not  generate  a  dynamic  braking  load  if  the  free  A  +  and  F  — 
leads  are  connected  as  shown  in  the  left-hand  sketch,  whereas  it  will 
do  so  when  connected  as  shown  in  the  right-hand  sketch,  herewith,  and 
furthermore  will  draw  a  big  arc  if  opened  before  the  rotation  of  the  arma- 
ture ceases. 

Answer. — The  using  of  a  sewing  needle  is  not  desirable  as  the  polarity 
of  the  needle  is  liable  to  change  because  of  the  influence  of  the  fields. 
One  method  of  determining  the  polarity  of  field  magnets  is  by  means  of  a 
compass.  If  a  small  current  is  passed  through  a  field  coil  and  a  compass 
is  held  a  short  distance  away,  the  south  pole  end  of  the  needle  will  point 
toward  the  field  if  it  is  a  north  pole  and  the  north  pole  end  will  point  to- 
ward it  if  it  is  a  south  pole.  When  the  direction  of  the  winding  about 


Determining  the  direction  of  rotation 
in  railway  motors. 


142  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

the  pole  is  known,  its  polarity  may  be  determined  by  the  direction  in 
which  the  current  flows  around  it.  One  simple  rule  for  remembering 
this  relation  is  that  when  a  person  is  looking  at  a  north  pole  the  current 
is  flowing  around  that  pole  in  a  counter-clockwise  direction  to  him,  and 
when  he  looks  at  a  south  pole  the  current  is  flowing  around  that  pole 
in  a  direction  which  is  clockwise  to  him. 

The  following  method  of  testing  the  polarity  of  the  fields  of  railway 
motors  after  they  are  connected  is  employed  by  several  large  railway 
shops.  Two  bars  of  iron  about  8  in.  long  are  used.  One  end  of  each 
bar  is  placed  in  the  center  of  two  adjacent  pole  faces,  and  the  other  ends 
are  held  about  1  in.  apart.  A  current  of  about  1  amp.  is  then  passed 
through  the  field  coils,  and  if  the  connections  are  properly  made  the  iron 
bars  will  be  drawn  together  by  their  attraction  for  each  other.  With 
one  end  of  each  iron  in  the  center  of  two  opposite  pole  faces,  the  other 
ends  will  be  forced  apart.  Care  should  be  taken  to  use  but  a  small 
current  through  the  fields,  or  the  iron  bars  will  be  drawn  together  with 
such  force  as  to  be  liable  to  injure  the  person  holding  them.  If  much 
testing  is  to  be  done  it  is  best  to  provide  the  irons  with  handles  about 
3  ft.  or  4  ft.  long  so  that  a  man  can  hold  them  without  danger.  The 
accompanying  illustration  shows  the  polarities  of  a  four-pole  railway 
motor.  The  two  north  poles  are  directly  opposite  each  other,  and  the 
two  south  poles  are  opposite  each  other. 

When  the  polarity  of  the  field  magnets  of  a  motor  is  known  the  direc- 
tion that  the  current  must  pass 
through  the  armature  coils  to 

A  +         (  *  -i-  <-o^  produce  a  given  direction  of  rota- 

tion is  easily  determined.      One 
simple  rule,  sometimes  called  the 
Non-effective  and  effective  connections  to     rule  of  the  thumb,  is  the  following  : 
make  motor  act  as  a  generator.  Place  the  palm  of  the  left  hand 

toward  a  north  pole  and  the  ex- 
tended thumb  pointing  in  the  direction  it  is  desired  to  have  the  arma- 
ture rotate.  Then  the  current  through  the  armature  coils  underneath 
this  pole  must  flow  in  the  direction  the  fingers  are  pointing. 

Referring  again  to  the  illustration  on  page  143,  the  poles  3  and  1 
are  north  poles,  and  to  make  the  armature  rotate  in  the  direction  indi- 
cated by  the  arrow — that  is,  counter-clockwise — the  current  in  the  arma- 
ture coils  under  3  and  1  must  flow  away  from  the  observer.  Looking  at 
the  commutator  end  of  this  armature,  it  is  therefore  necessary  that  the 
positive  brush  holder  should  be  located  in  front  of  field  coil  3,  so  that  the 
coils  to  which  it  is  connected  through  the  commutator  will  have  the  cur- 
rent flowing  in  the  proper  direction. 

In  reply  to  the  second  question:  a  series  motor  will  not  generate  if 


MOTORS  AND  GEARING  143 

the  field  excitation  and  the  residual  magnetism  are  not  in  the  same  direc- 
tion. When  the  current  used  to  drive  a  motor  is  shut  off,  a  small  emf .  is 
generated  in  the  armature  by  the  residual  magnetism  of  the  fields.  This 
sends  a  small  magnetizing  current  through  the  fields,  and  if  this  current 
produces  lines  of  force  in  the  same  direction  as  the  residual  magnetism 
there  will  be  an  increase  of  the  emf.  and  field  current  so  that  the  motor 
will  build  up  and  generate.  If  this  current  does  not  excite  the  field  in 
the  same  direction  as  the  residual  magnetism,  the  field  magnetism  is 
decreased  so  the  motor  cannot  build  up  and  generate.  To  use  a  motor  for 
electric  braking  it  is  therefore  necessary  to  reverse  the  connections  from 
those  used  as  a  motor  so  that  the  current  generated  will  flow  through  the 
fields  in  the  same  direction  as  when  the  machine  is  used  as  a  motor. 

Motor  Data  Sheet,  Hartford. — The  motor  data  sheet  produced 
herewith  is  uniform  with  other  instruction  prints  at  the  Hartford  shops 
of  the  Connecticut  Company.  This  table,  which  was  checked  by  the 
motor  manufacturers,  not  only  presents  the  usual  data  in  regard  to 
capacities,  weights  and  gearing,  but  also  includes  statistics  of  special 
value  in  the  shop,  such  as  the  number  of  coils  in  the  armature,  the  number 
of  armature  bars,  the  throw  of  the  coils,  the  original  and  safe  wearing 
diameters  of  the  commutator,  the  number  of  turns  in  the  field  and  the 
size  of  wire. 


144 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


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NOTE.—  GI 

XI 

CONTROL,  CIRCUIT-BREAKERS,  CONTROLLERS,  RESIST- 
ANCES AND  GENERAL  TESTS 

Controller  Changes,  Third  Avenue  Railway. — At  the  shops  of  the 
Third  Avenue  Railway,  New  York,  an  inexpensive  yet  important  better- 
ment has  been  made  in  the  controllers  by  removing  the  old  countersunk 
screws  in  the  water  collars  of  the  main  and  reverse  cylinders  and  replacing 
them  by  screws  with  a  projecting  head.  This  change  was  made  to  elimi- 
nate the  difficulty  of  removing  the  cover  due  to  the  rusting  of  the  counter- 
sunk heads.  A  No.  2  wire  has  been  substituted  for  the  original  No.  4 
T-2  terminal  wires  of  K-ll  and  K-27  controllers,  as  the  old  wires  were 
found  to  be  of  insufficient  capacity  for  the  heavy  currents  which  are 
taken  through  these  controllers.  The  blow-out  coils  of  the  same  types 
have  been  furnished  with  sleeved  terminals  to  permit  the  quicker  inser- 
tion of  the  connecting  wires. 

Controller  Maintenance  in  Brooklyn. — On  the  Brooklyn  Rapid 
Transit  System  the  cost  of  stripping  a  K-ll  controller  and  replacing  all 
worn  material  averages  about  $2.50  for  both  labor  and  material.  Among 
the  departures  which  have  been  made  from  the  original  design  of  this 
controller  are  the  following:  A  board  of  1/2-in.  vulcabeston  has  replaced 
the  1/16-in.  fiber  barrier  between  the  main  and  reverse  cylinders;  in 
addition  to  the  single-arc  shield  above  the  trolley  controller  finger  four 
arc  shields  have  been  installed;  the  binding  posts  have  been  changed  to 
permit  the  screws  to  go  in  perpendicularly  so  that  the  wires  are  no  longer 
cut  by  the  threads  as  occurred  when  the  screws  were  inserted  at  an  angle 
to  the  wire;  the  back  is  treated  with  asbestos  and  shellacked  and  all  wires 
and  cables  are  also  shellacked.  It  may  be  added  that  the  controller  con- 
tact plates  are  lubricated  with  vaseline  at  the  regular  inspections. 

A  Novel  Arrangement  of  Motor  Control. — The  Cedar  Rapids  &  Iowa 
City  Railway  &  Light  Company  has  several  express  cars  which  are  fre- 
quently used  for  switching  service.  In  order  to  permit  motormen  to 
observe  signals  given  by  a  switchman  from  the  rear  during  such  move- 
ments the  cars  have  been  equipped  so  that  the  controller  can  be  operated 
from  either  side  of  the  cab.  The  arrangement,  which  has  been  developed 
by  Charles  Munson,  electrical  engineer  of  the  company,  consists  in  a 
bevel  gear  mounted  in  a  cast-iron  casing  in  place  of  the  controller  handle 
and  operated  by  means  of  a  horizontal  shaft  extending  across  the  car. 

146 


CONTROL  AND  GENERAL  TESTS 


147 


The  shaft  is  made  of  gas  pipe  and  has  a  handle  at  each  end  equipped  with 
a  "dead  man's  button,"  so  that  a  man  seated  at  either  side  of  the  cab  and 
leaning  out  of  the  cab  window  has  a  handle  within  easy  reach.  The 
reverse  lever  is  arranged  in  the  same  manner  with  a  horizontal  rod  at- 
tached to  the  reverse  lever  through  a  pair  of  bell  cranks. 

The  cars  are  equipped  with  automatic  air  brakes  for  road  service  as 
well  as  straight  air  brake  for  use  in  switching.     Thejstraight  air  control 


I'SIWI 

IIIT1 

BLOW-OUT 
Illllll  COIL 


NO. 3  MOTOR 


NO. 4  MOTOR 


Connections  for  S.  P.  K-6  controller  and  rheostat  for  four  GE-1000  or  GE-67  motors, 

Toronto. 

valve  is  connected  by  rods  to  hand  levers  on  each  side  of  the  cab  and 
within  easy  reach  of  the  motorman,  the  automatic  air  being  controlled 
through  an  engineer's  brake  valve  in  the  customary  position  on  the 
right-hand  side  of  the  cab.  The  control  equipment  is  of  the  Westing- 
house  K-14  type,  and  a  four-pole  switch  is  provided  in  the  motor 
circuit  which  enables  the  motorman  to  throw  all  four  motors  into  series 
for  starting  an  extremely  heavy  load. 


148 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


Controller  Work  at  Toronto. — At  the  shops  of  the  Toronto  Railway, 
particular  attention  has  been  given  to  controller  troubles,  and,  as  a  result, 
several  changes  have  been  made  in  construction.  That  portion  of  the 
controller  case  opposite  the  space  between  the  main  and  reversing 
cylinders  is  covered  with  No.  16  fiber  screwed  down  on  wooden  blocks 
and  the  cylinders  are  separated  by  a  fiber  barrier.  In  the  K-6  controller, 
insulating  barriers  have  been  placed  between  fingers  15  and  E,  in  addi- 
tion to  those  between  19  and  R-6  and  19  and  15,  which  were  installed  by 
the  manufacturer.  The  controller  board  is  also  insulated  with  mica 


FORWARD 

F2    \  REVERSE 


Connections  for  S.  P.  K-10  controller,  Toronto. 

from  finger  19  to  ground.  Instead  of  carrying  the  ground  wire  from  the 
ground  terminal  on  the  main  board  to  F2,  a  wire  is  sweated  to  F2  and 
connected  to  ground  on  the  main  cylinder  block.  In  all  controllers  the 
motor  cutouts  are  plainly  marked  "1"  and  "2"  to  avoid  errors. 

Nearly  all  parts  of  the  K-6  and  K-10  controllers  are  interchangeable. 
Old  segments  and  fingers  are  cut  down  for  use  again  wherever  possible. 
Every  division  is  supplied  with  a  bar  bender  to  make  segments  from  bars 


CONTROL  AND  GENERAL  TESTS 


149 


supplied  by  the  shop  storeroom.      Fingers  manufactured  of  phosphor 
bronze  are  used  on  the  reverse  cylinder  at  one-third  the  cost  of  the  usual 


Connections  for  S.  P.  K-12  controller  and  four  motors,  Toronto. 


Two  types  of  reverse  fingers  in  controllers,  Toronto. 

drop  forgings.  All  heavy  filing  or  sand-papering  is  avoided  in  cleaning 
fingers,  segments  and  cover  plates,  as  such  parts  are  simply  dipped  in 
lye  and  acid,  then  chamfered  with  a  rough  file  and  buffed. 


150  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

One  feature  of  the  controllers  is  that  they  are  not  grounded,  but  are 
insulated  on  a  wooden  block,  yet  very  little  trouble  has  arisen  from  blow- 
outs and  there  have  been  no  instances  of  shocks  to  the  motorman.  When 
the  controllers  go  through  the  daily  inspection  they  are  blown  out  with 
compressed  air,  which  results  in  keeping  them  so  clean  that  there  are  no 
leaks  or  bad  short  circuits.  In  overhauling  controllers  the  case  is  stripped 
down  to  the  back,  painted  with  black  insulating  paint  on  both  sides  and 
lined  inside  with  asbestos,  after  which  the  interior  is  rebuilt.  Three 
controller  wiring  diagrams  are  appended. 

Simplified  Controller  Diagrams  (By  E.  C.  Parham). — A  car-wiring 
diagram  when  reduced  to  a  drawing  of  convenient  size  has  so  many  wires 
running  to  points  apparently  close  together  that  it  is  hard  to  follow  even 
a  regular  circuit  from  beginning  to  end  with  any  degree  of  certainty, 
especially  for  one  not  familiar  with  such  circuits.  The  substance  of  this 
article  is  to  show  a  conventional  but  simple  method  of  representing  a 
car- wiring  diagram  in  such  a  manner  that  the  effect  of  a  ground,  open 
circuit  or  wrong  connection  and  the  irregular  circuit  thereby  established 
becomes  almost  evident. 

Fig.  1  is  a  wireman's  diagram  of  four  motors,  controlled  by  a  K-6 
General  Electric  controller,  or  its  equivalent,  and  the  path  of  the  current 
established  by  the  first  controller  notch  is  indicated  by  the  arrowheads. 
It  will  be  noted  that  the  main  controller  fingers  are  represented  by  circles 
inked  in  black;  the  reverse  fingers  by  circles  with  dotted  centers;  the  cut- 
out switch  posts  by  circles  with  crosses,  and  the  connecting-board  posts 
by  plain  circles.  All  controller  wires  which  are  installed  at  the  factory  are 
indicated  by  dotted  lines,  and  all  wires  which  are  to  be  installed  by  the 
wireman  are  indicated  by  full  lines,  after  the  method  used  in  standard 
factory  diagrams. 

Fig.  2  is  a  simplified  reproduction  of  Fig.  1,  and  the  conventional 
marks  are  so  used  that  any  given  part  of  the  circuit  or  all  of  it,  as  shown  in 
either  diagram,  can  be  readily  identified  in  the  other.  Fig.  2a  is  the  cir- 
cuit development  for  " series-ahead,"  Fig.  26  for  " series-back,"  Fig.  2c 
for  " parallel-ahead,"  and  Fig.  2d  for  " parallel-back."  The  most  con- 
venient layout  for  using  such  diagrams  is  to  draw  them  on  a  slate  so  that 
connections  may  be  readily  erased  and  replaced  by  those  to  be  studied. 
Thus  the  diagrams  show  clearly  the  effect,  so  far  as  the  circuits  are  con- 
cerned, if  the  Fl  and  A2  wires  are  confused  when  the  controller  is  con- 
nected up.  They  also  illustrate  the  different  conditions  established 
when  the  controller  is  "ahead,"  "back"  or  in  "series"  or  in  "parallel." 
With  an  ordinary  diagram  satisfactory  study  of  irregularities  in  a  car 
circuit  is  difficult  because  of  the  trouble  which  most  people  experience 
in  holding  such  circuits  as  a  whole  in  mind.  With  the  diagrams  submitted 


CONTROL  AND  GENERAL  TESTS 


151 


152 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


all  complications  disappear  and  only  a  knowledge  of  the  law  of  current 
preference  is  required. 

Montreal  Apparatus  for  Testing  Circuit-breakers. — The  apparatus 
shown  in  the  accompanying  drawing  has  been  installed  in  the  Youville 
shops  of  the  Montreal  Tramways  to  test  and  set  circuit-breakers  while 
in  position  on  cars.  Current  is  used  at  600  volts  because  a  circuit- 
breaker  which  will  successfully  break  a  heavy  current  at  low  voltage 
will  not  necessarily  break  it  at  trolley  voltage.  The  apparatus  is  mounted 
on  the  wall  beside  the  most  accessible  shop  track,  and  circuit-breakers 
in  any  car  on  this  track  can  be  readily  tested. 

All  circuit-breakers  which  are  sent  to  the  carhouses  to  be  there 
mounted  in  cars  are  first  tested  by  means  of  this  apparatus,  as  well  as 
all  circuit-breakers  mounted  in  the  cars  before  they  leave  the  shops. 
The  unmounted  circuit-breakers  are  clamped  to  a  bracket  on  the  wall. 


WATER 
RHEOSTAT 


PIPE 
INSULATOR 


BRINE 
TANK 


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GRID  RHEOSTAT 


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FEEDER 


SHUNTj 
D.T.SWITCH 


* ^p 

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BREAKER 


BRACKET  FOR 

/  TEST 
/CIRCUIT 


n 


LEADS  TO   BRACKET 


TO  SHOP  AIR  SUPPLY 


3  WAY   COCK 

Diagram  of  wiring  connections  for  circuit-breaker  testing,  Montreal. 

This  bracket  is  so  arranged  that  the  circuit-breakers  are  clamped  in  the 
same  position  as  in  the  cars.  This  is  a  necessary  precaution  because  in 
some  types  of  circuit-breakers  the  weight  of  the  armature  is  so  great  in 
comparison  to  the  pull  exerted  by  the  calibration  spring  that  the  position 
of  the  circuit-breaker  materially  affects  the  calibration.  The  leads  for 
use  in  connection  with  this  bracket  are  shown  in  the  accompanying 
diagram.  The  source  of  current  is  a  shop  feeder,  and  when  the  apparatus 
is  not  in  use  this  feeder  is  connected  direct  to  the  trolley  wire  by  means 
of  a  double-throw  switch. 

Referring  to  the  diagram,  it  will  be  seen  that  when  the  knife  switches 
A  and  B  are  closed,  the  current  after  passing  through  the  ammeter  shunt 
follows  three  parallel  paths;  that  is  to  say,  the  two  legs  of  the  grid  rheostat 
and  the  water  rheostat.  The  capacities  of  the  two  legs  of  the  grid 


CONTROL  AND  GENERAL  TESTS  153 

rheostat  are  200  and  100  amp.  respectively  and  the  water  rheostat  will 
carry  a  maximum  of  200  amp.,  making  a  total  capacity  of  600  amp. 

The  novel  feature  of  this  apparatus  is  the  utilization  of  the  shop 
supply  of  compressed  air  to  pump  brine  into  the  water  rheostat.  The 
regulation  of  the  current  in  this  rheostat  is  found  to  give  ample  range  of 
adjustment.  This  water  rheostat  is  made  of  an  old  transformer  oil 
tank  in  which  a  6-in.  iron  pipe  is  suspended  to  form  the  positive  electrode. 
The  lower  tank  which  contains  the  brine  is  an  old  air  reservoir  with  a 
water  gage  added.  The  air  is  controlled  by  a  three-way  cock.  It  passes 
into  the  top  of  the  brine  tank,  thus  forcing  the  brine  up  into  the  rheostat. 
To  empty,  the  air  in  the  brine  tank  is  exhausted  to  the  atmosphere  and 
the  brine  runs  back  by  gravitation.  The  water  rheostat  and  the  brine 
tank  are  mounted  on  wooden  supports  to  insulate  them  from  the  ground. 
The  air  pipe  leading  into  the  brine  tank  is  insulated  from  the  tank  by  a 
pipe  insulation. 

In  testing  circuit-breakers  mounted  in  cars  the  current  after  passing 
through  the  rheostats  goes  to  the  trolley  wire  and  from  there  to  the  circuit- 
breaker  in  the  car.  A  jumper  is  placed  from  the  trolley  finger  to  the 
ground  finger  of  the  controller,  thus  enabling  the  current  to  flow  directly 
to  the  rail.  The  apparatus  is  of  simple  constr action  and  inexpensive. 
It  gives  very  satisfactory  service. 

Changes  in  Multiple-unit  Control  Circuits  at  Brooklyn. — Several 
important  changes  which  add  greatly  to  reliability  and  safety  in  service 
have  been  made  during  recent  years  by  the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit 
System  in  both  the  main  and  auxiliary  circuits  of  the  multiple-unit  con- 
trol systems  on  elevated  cars. 

Formerly  the  batteries  were  charged  through  the  lighting  circuit 
so  that  charging  occurred  only  when  the  lights  were  on.  This  method 
proved  particularly  unsatisfactory  in  the  short  summer  season  when  an 
average  of  250  to  300  weak  batteries  a  month  was  reported.  The  bat- 
teries are  now  charged  from  the  compressor  circuit,  the  current  passing 
through  sufficient  resistance  to  secure  the  desired  maximum  of  2  amp.  to 
3  amp.  The  resistance  can  be  changed  to  have  the  rate  of  charging  vary 
according  to  the  type  of  control.  The  resistance  to  ground  is  merely  one 
shunt  of  the  circuit  in  which  the  battery  forms  the  other  shunt.  A  relay 
in  this  circuit  opens  the  battery  circuit  whenever  the  compressor  is  not 
operated,  thus  preventing  the  batteries  from  discharging  through  or,  in 
other  words,  attempting  to  operate  the  compressor. 

Another  battery  change  was  to  place  in  parallel  all  batteries  on  cars 
equipped  with  the  old  drum-type  controllers.  The  batteries  on  each 
motor  car  were  formerly  connected  to  a  single  train  line,  the  opposite  ter- 
minal of  each  battery  being  grounded.  In  operation,  however,  it  was 
found  that  if  any  set  of  batteries  on  one  car  was  weaker  than  the  others 


154 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


there  would  be  a  reversal  of  current  because  the  high-voltage  batteries 
would  try  to  charge  the  low-voltage  battery,  thus  reducing  the  available 
train-line  voltage.  The  evil  was  corrected  by  placing  all  batteries  in 
parallel  so  that  their  differences  in  voltage  would  always  be  equalized. 
This  end  was  accomplished  by  so  changing  the  connections  in  the  control 
circuit  that  an  additional  train-line  wire  was  obtained  to  serve  as  the 
battery  minus  wire.  The  availability  of  a  wire  for  the  battery  minus 
circuit  was  due  to  the  fact  that  a  wire  which  had  previously  been  in  the 


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COUNTERBORES  FILLED  WITH   INSULATING  COMPOUND 

Layout  of  switchboard  for  cabs,  Brooklyn. 


reverser  circuit  was  now  utilized  in  the  operating  circuit  by  placing  an 
interlock  on  the  reverser.  The  change  in  train  wiring  was  directly  asso- 
ciated with  the  general  alterations  made  to  permit  the  interoperation  of 
the  older  and  newer  types  of  automatic  control.  Formerly  the  unit 
switch  group  type  of  control  could  not  be  operated  with  the  older  drum 
type  because  the  seven  wires  of  the  train  line  did  not  perform  the  same 
functions.  Consequently,  the  circuits  in  the  older  type  were  rearranged 


CONTROL  AND  GENERAL  TESTS  155 

so  that  the  corresponding  train-line  wires  of  both  systems  would  have 
the  same  duties. 

The  second  important  change  in  the  drum-type  control  was  the 
installation  of  the  limit  switch  in  series  with  the  armature  and  field  of 
No.  2  motor,  instead  of  placing  it  in  a  shunt  around  the  field  of  this  motor. 
One  trouble  with  the  shunt  connection  was  that  the  switch  was  frequently 
out  of  adjustment  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  maintaining  the  proper  ratio 
of  current  division,  for  since  the  shunt  carried  a  small  current  it  was  more 
easily  affected  by  minor  variations  in  voltage  than  if  placed  in  the  series 
circuit.  The  shunt  limit  switch  also  gave  trouble  in  case  of  an  open  cir- 
cuit in  the  armature  of  No.  2  motor,  for  in  that  event  there  was  the  possi- 
bility that  all  current  would  go  through  the  switch  and  burn  it  up.  Of 
course,  when  connected  in  series,  the  limit  switch  is  also  on  open  circuit 
when  the  rest  of  the  equipment  is. 

A  third  change  in  the  drum-type  control  was  the  substitution  of  a  line 
switch  in  place  of  a  circuit-breaker.  Formerly  when  dropping  off  the 
main  motor  circuit  in  this  control  was  opened  directly  at  the  controller, 
thus  causing  the  burning  of  fingers  and  contacts.  Controller  explosions 
were  also  possible  on  account  of  short  circuits.  These  controllers  are 
mounted  above  the  floor  level  in  a  compartment  adjacent  to  the  motor- 
man's  cab,  and  it  was  therefore  considered  desirable  to  eliminate  defects 
of  this  character.  Consequently  a  line  switch  was  installed  to  open  the 
circuit  independent  of  the  controller.  This  line  switch  is  placed  in  a  box 
underneath  the  car,  where  its  operation  cannot  disturb  the  passengers. 
It  not  only  serves  to  open  up  a  circuit  during  ordinary  operation,  thereby 
taking  the  arc  away  from  the  controllers,  but  it  also  replaces  the  circuit- 
breaker  as  a  means  for  opening  the  circuit  on  over-loads. 

The  release  safety  switch  cylinders  of  Westinghouse  131  and  160 
control  have  been  drilled  to  secure  air  connections  which  insure  uniform 
acceleration  throughout  the  train  even  when  cars  with  old  and  new  types 
of  automatic  control  are  operated  together.  This  change  was  made 
because  the  old  controller  gave  considerable  trouble  from  what  is  termed 
"hanging  up"  owing  to  the  sluggishness  of  the  repeating  switch  in  cases 
where  the  motorman  desired  to  secure  a  quick  release.  The  trouble  was 
that  the  operating  pawls  would  fail  to  complete  their  forward  stroke  for 
advancing  the  controller  drum  before  the  rack  and  pinion  of  the  release 
cylinder  was  at  work  pushing  in  the  contrary  direction.  The  consequence 
was  a  wedging  action  at  the  star  wheel.  The  control  equipment  is  now  so 
interlocked  that  air  cannot  enter  the  port  of  the  release  cylinder  until  the 
interlocking  circuit  for  the  operating  cylinder  has  been  opened. 

The  large  detail  drawing  on  page  154  shows  the  slate  panel  switch- 
board in  the  motorman's  cab  of  the  elevated  cars.  Formerly  transite- 
lined  boxes  with  a  board  equipped  with  snap  switches  were  used  for  this 


156 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


purpose.  The  new  outfits  are  better  constructed,  better  insulated,  use 
knife  switches  instead  of  snap  switches  to  secure  greater  mechanical 
efficiency,  and,  furthermore,  the  back  of  the  box  is  arranged  so  that  every 
wire  can  be  easily  inspected  when  desired. 

Improving  Resistances  in  Brooklyn. — Since  1911  the  Brooklyn  Rapid 
Transit  System  has  been  working  toward  the  elimination  of  old-type  grid 
resistances  with  the  object  of  standardizing  the  installations  on  272 
single-truck  cars  of  open  and  closed  types,  507  double-truck  closed  cars, 
750  double-truck  open  cars,  and  563  double-truck  semi-convertible  cars. 
This  list  embraces  more  than  one-half  the  surface  rolling  stock  in  service. 
The  new  equipments  are  of  the  Westinghouse  three-point  suspension  type. 
The  old  resistances  had  sixty  grids,  but  although  the  new  ones  have  only 
forty-eight  their  total  capacity  is  greater.  The  resistance  steps  have 
been  so  arranged  that  the  current  on  the  first  notch  will  be  low  enough  to 

RESISTANCE  STEPS  FOR  DOUBLE-TRUCK  CARS  WITH  TWO  MOTORS,  K-ll  CONTROL- 
LERS AND  THREE-POINT  SUSPENSION  RESISTANCE 


Point 

Connection 

Ohms 

1 

Ri  to  R6 

4.416 

2 

R2  to  RB 

2.40 

3 

R3  to  R6 

1.12 

4 

R4  to  R6 

0.48 

5 

Full  Series 

All  out. 

6 

R2  to  R6 

2.40 

7 

R3  to  R5 

1.12 

8 

R4  to  R6 

0.48 

9 

Full  Multiple 

All  out 

WESTINGHOUSE  THREE-POINT  SUSPENSION  RESISTANCE  GRIDS  USED  ON  DOUBLE 
TRUCK  CAR  WITH  TWO   MOTORS  AND  K-ll  CONTROLLERS 


From 

No.  of 
grids 

Pattern  No. 
of  grids 

Resistance 
each,  ohms 

Total  resist- 
ance, ohms 

In  circuit 
on  points 

Ri  to  R2 

16 

N-3210 

0.126 

2.016 

1 

R2  to  R3 

16 

N-3353 

0.08 

1.28 

1-2-6 

R8  to  R4 

8 

N-3353 

0.08 

0.64 

1-2-3-6-7 

R4  to  R5 

8 

N-3354 

0.06 

0.06 

1-2-3-4-6-7-8 

4.416 

avoid  jerky  starts.  In  series  running  the  maximum  current  will  be  ob- 
tained on  the  third  point,  and  in  parallel  running  on  the  last  point,  notch- 
ing at  the  rate  of  one  second  per  point.  The  accompanying  tables  show 
the  resistance  steps  for  double  truck  cars  with  two  motors,  K-ll  con- 
trollers and  three-point  suspension  resistances,  the  total  amount  of  resist- 
ance in  circuits  at  various  points  and  other  data. 

The  new  installations  are  being  made  on  a  renewal  basis  only.  The 
old  resistances  removed  are  being  used  for  the  maintenance  of  other  cars 
which  are  still  equipped  with  the  old  types. 


CONTROL  AND  GENERAL  TESTS 


157 


Resistances  with  Removable  Grids. — The  accompanying  illustration 
shows  the  detail  construction  of  a  small  and  large  grid  resistance  made  by 
the  Toronto  Railway  after  the  models  of  the  Detroit  United  Railway. 
These  grid  resistances  are  arranged  to  give  a  first-step  resistance  of  5  3/4 
ohms  on  single-truck  cars  and  3  ohms  on  double-truck  cars.  The  rheo- 
stats are  built  so  that  broken  grids  can  be  removed  without  disturbing 
the  others.  This  is  done  by  slackening  the  outer  and  inner  end  bolts 
on  the  middle  micanite  tubes  and  the  individual  screw  at  the  side.  The 


SMALL  GRID 


SMALL   GRID  TYPE 

LARGE    GRID  TYPE 

END   CASTINGS 
If'i  J/IRON  RODS 
17k"  XX"»        " 

i     ^"HEXACON  NUTS 

1      END    CASTINGS 
1?"x  J^'lRON  RODS 

1    J/'HEXAOON  NUTS 

2       MICA  WASHERS 

2      MICA  WASHERS 

4      Ji"X  14"  X  24"  MACHINE 

38   J^"x  14"x  24"MACHINE 

SCREWS 

SCREWS 

BRASS  TERMINAL 
2  FOR  EACH  TYPE 


MICA  WASHER 
TAPPED  FOR  14  X  20  SCREWS 


Details  of  removable  grid  resistance,  Toronto. 


3/8-in.  micanite  tubes  which  carry  the  grids  are  insulated  by  mica  from 
the  end  casting.  Brass  ribbon  clips  are  used  to  insure  good  contact 
between  the  connecting  ends  of  adjacent  grids,  and  mica  washers  are 
employed  on  the  opposite  ends. 

Resistance  Adjustment  at  Indianapolis. — At  the  shops  of  the  Indian- 
apolis Traction  &  Terminal  Company,  car  resistances  are  adjusted  in 
accordance  with  the  following  table.  The  quantities  quoted  in  this 
table  for  each  resistance  step  are  based  on  the  use  of  a  constant  testing 


158  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

INDIANAPOLIS  SHOPS— TABLE  USED  IN  ADJUSTING  RESISTANCES 


Motors 

Control     |  Weight  of  car|  Dwg.  No       Connections        Volts 

2  GE.-800 
2  West.-3 
2  West.-49 

K-2 
K-10 

11-tons 

746 

RI—  RS 

66£ 

RI—  R< 

63 

Ri-R3 

52£ 

Ri-R2 

34 

2  West.-56 

K-ll 

20  tons 

747 

Rr-Ri 

38 

R!-R4 

34£ 

Rr-R3 

29 

Ri-R, 

20 

2  West.-93A2 

K-ll 

20  tons 

748 

R!-R6 

38 

RI—  R4 

35 

Ri-R3 

31 

Ri-R, 

24 

current  of  10  amp.,  and  thus  the  readings  are  in  volts  rather  than  in  ohms. 
A  current  of  10  amp.  is  not  sufficient  to  heat  the  grids  and  therefore  no 
correction  for  hot  resistance  is  necessary.  The  use  of  constant  current 
makes  the  calculation  in  voltage  a  simple  matter  because,  with  the  testing 
current  of  10  amp.,  the  voltage  reading  at  any  step  along  the  series  of  re- 
sistance connections  equals  10  times  the  ohms  resistance  in  the  circuit, 
and  it  is  only  necessary  to  read  the  voltage  and  move  the  decimal  point 
one  place  to  the  left  to  obtain  the  ohms  resistance  of  the  circuit. 

Calculation  of  Resistance  and  Rate  of  Acceleration.  Query. — If  a 
car  is  to  be  built  to  weigh,  say,  30  tons,  including  electrical  equipment 
of  four  GE-80  60-h.p.  motors  with  K-28-B  control,  how  could  the  resist- 
ance be  calculated  with  such  exactness  that  there  would  be  an  easy  start 
on  the  first  point,  and  so  that  the  arcing  when  the  controller  passed  from 
the  first  point  to  the  off  point  would  be  reduced  to  a  minimum?  Another 
problem  which  the  writer  would  like  to  have  solved  is  the  following: 

If  a  car  with  certain  low-speed  gear  ratio  accelerated  smoothly  on 
level  track  and  even  up  a  15  per  cent,  grade  at  500  volts,  would  not  the 
acceleration  be  poorer  if  the  gear  ratio  was  changed  for  higher  speed  and 
the  other  conditions  remained  the  same?  Would  the  wheels  tend  to 
spin  more  because  the  higher  speed  equipment  required  a  larger  starting 
current  and  hence  less  external  resistance?  Why  is  it  that  the  higher 


CONTROL  AND  GENERAL  TESTS  159 

speed  equipment  requires  a  larger  starting  current  and  must  have  a  finer 
rheostatic  adjustment  to  reduce  the  spinning  tendency  to  the  minimum? 

Reply. — The  total  amount  of  grid  resistance  for  use  with  the  equip- 
ment and  weight  of  car  specified  would  depend  on  the  initial  acceleration 
desired.  An  acceleration  of  1.5  m.p.h.  per  second  is  a  common  figure 
used  for  ordinary  service  conditions.  A  tractive  effort  of  100  Ib.  per  ton 
is  needed  to  produce  an  acceleration  of  1  m.p.h.  per  second.  Hence  there 
must  be  1.5X100X30,  or  4500,  Ib.  net  tractive  effort  for  a  30-ton  car. 
The  train  resistance  for  the  slow  speed  of  starting  will  be  about  20  Ib. 
per  ton,  or  600  Ib.  for  a  30-ton  car.  The  total  tractive  effort  developed 
by  the  motors  in  starting  must  therefore  be  4500+600  =  5100  Ib.,  or 
1275  Ib.  per  motor  for  a  four-motor  equipment.  By  referring  to  a  char- 
acteristic curve  for  a  GE-80  motor  with  4.73  gear  ratio  and  33-in.  wheels, 
it  will  be  seen  that  this  required  tractive  effort  is  produced  when  each 
motor  is  taking  62  amp.  With  the  motors  connected  in  pairs  with  two 
motors  permanently  in  parallel,  as  would  be  the  case  with  a  K-28-B 
controller,  the  total  car  current  would  be  124  amp.  By  Ohm's  law  the 
line  potential  of  500  volts  divided  by  this  current  would  give  4.03  ohms 
as  the  total  resistance  of  the  circuit.  The  resistance  of  four  GE-80  motors 
connected  as  above  is  0.574  ohm,  and  if  the  resistance  of  the  car  wiring 
and  inductive  effect  is  1.4  ohms,  this  would  leave  2.056  ohms  as  the  value 
of  the  grid  resistance.  Several  methods  are  employed  by  designers  for 
computing  the  values  of  the  various  resistance  steps  after  the  total  resist- 
ance has  been  determined. 

A  car  with  the  weight  and  equipment  just  mentioned  will  have  a 
maximum  speed  of  about  24  m.p.h.  on  a  level  track.  If  this  gear  ratio 
should  be  changed  from  4.73  to  3.53,  the  maximum  speed  will  be  in- 
creased to  30  m.p.h.  If  the  accelerating  current  remains  the  same,  the 
average  acceleration  will  decrease  from  1.5  m.p.h.  per  second  to  0.93 
m.p.h.  per  second,  due  to  the  decreased  tractive  effort  with  the  same  cur- 
rent at  the  lower  gear  ratio.  If  it  is  desired  to  keep  the  average  accelera- 
tion the  same,  then  the  accelerating  current  must  be  increased  from 
62  amp.  to  82  amp.  per  motor,  to  give  the  same  tractive  effort  in  each 
case.  The  rate  of  acceleration  is  limited  by  the  weight  on  the  driving 
wheels.  Under  ordinary  track  conditions,  if  the  tractive  effort  developed 
is  more  than  one-fifth  of  this  weight,  the  wheels  will  slip.  Thus  in  the 
case  in  question  the  tractive  effort  should  not  be  over  3000  Ib.  per  motor. 
With  the  equipment  as  specified,  the  motors  would  have  to  be  very  much 
overloaded  to  slip  the  wheels.  A  careful  study  of  the  characteristic 
curves  for  the  motors  used  on  any  equipment  will  show  how  a  change  in 
gear  ratio  will  affect  the  speed,  acceleration  and  tractive  effort. 

Installation  and  Connection  of  Grid  Resistances  (By  H.  Sch- 
legel). — If  we  assume  that  we  have  a  set  of  grid  resistance  frames 


160  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

well  selected  and  correctly  made,  the  next  chance  for  fault  and  confu- 
sion is  in  their  installation  and  connection — and  faulty  installation  of- 
ten begets  faulty  connection.  The  frames  should  be  placed  well  away 
from  the  car  floor,  well  away  from  the  water  and  slush  to  be  thrown  by 
the  car  wheels,  and  well  clear  of  all  brake  parts.  By  the  latter  I  mean 
under  all  conditions,  that  is,  whether  the  brakes  are  applied  or  released, 
whether  the  car  is  light  or  loaded,  and  whether  it  is  in  a  curve  or  on  a 
straight  rail  or  on  no  rail  at  all,  and  in  all  these  cases  allowance  must  be 
made  for  extreme  travel  of  brake  rods  and  chains  due  to  neglect,  slack 
and  wear. 

Secondary  considerations  in  the  location  of  the  resistances  are  (a) 
that  the  frames  shall  be  so  placed  that  the  heat  of  one  frame  shall  not 
blow  through  the  others  when  the  car  is  in  motion;  (6)  that  the  frames 
shall  be  located  in  the  same  order  on  all  cars,  and  (c)  that  the  individual 
placing  of  frames  be  such  that  the  minimum  length  of  jumper  will  con- 
nect the  correct  end  of  one  frame  to  the  correct  end  of  the  frame  next 
to  it.  With  conditions  (6)  and  (c)  observed,  the  right  or  wrong  dis- 
posal of  a  frame  can  be  judged  at  a  glance. 

The  height  above  the  rails  and  the  space  available  under  different 
car  bodies  vary  so  in  amount  and  disposition  that  no  rigid  rule  can 
apply  to  all.  On  modern  grid  frames  the  length  of  the  legs  is  such  that 
the  resistance  metal  is  held  a  safe  distance  from  the  asbestos-lined  car 
floor  even  when  the  legs  are  lagged  or  bolted  directly  to  the  car  floor, 
provided  a  proper  selection  of  grids  prevents  excessive  heating;  but 
this  direct  connection  of  frames  to  car  floor,  especially  by  through 
bolts,  is  to  be  avoided,  because  in  event  of  defective  grid-to-frame  in- 
sultation  or  of  a  frame  picking  up  wire  in  the  street — and  this  often 
occurs — the  through  bolts  become  charged  and  create  in  the  car  floor 
above  a  charged  area  ready  to  shock  a  passenger  making  contact  with 
it  and  a  grounded  area  at  the  same  time.  The  safest  method  of  suspen- 
sion is  by  means  of  the  hangers  supported  at  points  where  their  fasten- 
ing bolts  will  not  be  within  reach  of  passengers'  feet  inside  the  car. 
A  good  method  and  place  of  suspension,  where  such  is  practicable,  is 
to  use  hangers  of  L  section  which  extend  on  either  side  of  the  short  cir- 
cuit line  of  the  car,  the  resistance  frames  being  placed  lengthwise 
along  the  shorter  center  line.  This  arrangement  has  the  advantage 
that  the  sides  of  all  frames  are  exposed  to  the  direct  windage  due  to 
motion  and  the  hangers  are  supported  from  the  sides  where  the  liabil- 
ity to  cause  shock  is  the  least.  On  cars  with  centerhung  brake  levers, 
the  frames  must  be  dropped  as  low  as  permissible  and  the  brake  rigging 
allowed  to  work  between  the  top  of  the  hanger  and  the  bottom  of  the 
car.  A  wood  or  fiber  guard  should  then  be  placed  above  the  hangers  on 
both  ends  to  prevent  any  contact  between  the  sway  bar  and  the  hanger. 


CONTROL  AND  GENERAL  TESTS  161 

Assuming  that  the  frames  have  been  so  assembled  and  the  sectioning 
so  proportioned  that  all  car  wires  must  be  brought  down  to  the  same 
side  of  the  frames,  care  must  be  taken  that  all  frames  are  installed  with 
their  connecting  sides  toward  the  same  hanger  iron.  If  this  is  not  done, 
not  only  will  some  of  the  car  wires  have  to  cross  over  or  under  the 
frame,  but  a  long  jumper  instead  of  a  short  one  will  have  to  be  used, 
thereby  making  the  connections  appear  confusing.  Where  the  manner 
of  assembling  has  not  been  thus  standardized,  it  will  in  all  cases  pay  to 
do  so.  The  turning  of  a  coil  end  for  end  would  then  become  detectable 
at  once,  and  this  is  a  mighty  good  feature,  especially  on  frames  com- 
posed of  two  or  more  different  kinds  of  grid.  The  effect  of  getting  such 
a  frame  end  for  end  is  to  put  high-resistance  grids  of  high-current  capac- 
ity where  low-resistance  grids  of  high-current  capacity  should  be,  with 
the  final  result  that  the  car  will  notch  in  jerks  and  the  abused  frame 
will  give  trouble.  Measurement  of  the  total  resistance  of  the  starting 
coil  will  not  reveal  this  condition,  because  unless  the  jumpers  are  so 
run  as  to  cut  out  some  grids  the  total  resistance  will  measure  normal. 
The  wiremen  should  be  made  to  understand  that  jumpers  between 
frames  should  be  so  run  that  current  entering  at  one  end  of  the  start- 
ing coil  must  traverse  every  grid  of  every  frame  before  leaving  at  the 
other. 

The  above  points  by  no  means  include  all  of  the  irregularities  en- 
countered in  the  careless  assembly,  installation  and  connection  of  grid 
starting  coils,  but  are  sufficient  to  emphasize  the  importance  of  using  a 
standard  grid,  assembled  in  a  standard  frame  and  installed  and  connected 
according  to  standard  methods. 

Construction  of  Grid  Starting  Coils  (H.  Schlegel). — The  unit  into 
which  resistance  grids  are  assembled  is  called  a  "box"  or  "frame." 
To  assemble  a  box  or  frame  correctly  is  easy;  to  assemble  one  incorrectly 
is  equally  easy,  as  inspection  of  several  hundred  in  operation  will  show. 
The  master  condition  of  assembly  is  that  current  entering  at  one  end 
of  the  frame  shall  traverse  every  grid  before  leaving  at  the  other  end. 
As  simple  as  this  condition  may  seem,  it  is  too  often  ignored  either  through 
fault  of  the  man  who  assembles  the  frame  or  that  of  the  man  who  con- 
nects it  to  other  frames  under  the  car.  Construction  faults  only  will 
be  considered  here. 

1.  The  frames  must  be  sound  and  straight;  the  grids  must  have  no 
cracks,  warps  or  burrs  and  should  be  of  standard  resistance  per  grid. 
Factory-made  grids  meet  these  conditions;  locally  made  grids  may  or 
may  not,  especially  in  the  matters  of  resistance  and  thickness  through 
the  grid  eye.  The  thicker  the  grids,  the  greater  the  trouble  to  get  the 
required  number  into  the  given  length  between  the  end  plates.  If  this 
length  is  increased  it  will  be  at  the  risk  of  having  to  drill  new  holes  in 


162 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


the  resistance  hangers.  Grids  of  the  right  resistance  are  the  result  of 
experience  and  trial  in  making  the  patterns  from  which  they  are  cast. 
The  manufacturing  companies  have  passed  through  the  necessary  ex- 
perimental stage  and  anyone  wishing,  in  a  hurry,  grids  of  standard  re- 
sistance will  do  well  to  avoid  home  talent  until  the  hurry  shall  have 
passed. 

2.  The  contact  surfaces  of  adjacent  grid  eyes  should  be  squared  with 
the  hole  through  which  passes  the  mica  insulated  rod  on  which  the  grids 
are  assembled,  otherwise  when  the  frames  are  tightened,  the  lower  ends 
of  some  of  the  grids  will  be  drawn  toward  each  other,  with  the  resulting 
possibility  of  contact  when  the  grids  heat  and  expand.  Final  tightening 
of  the  frame  should  be  done  in  a  horizontal  position  so  that  the  grids 
hang  vertically;  this  will  avoid  a  general  deflection  of  the  grids  toward 
one  end  of  the  frame  where  the  tendency  to  flash  over  is  greatest.  Fig.  1 
is  an  exaggerated  side  view  of  part  of  a  frame  that  was  tightened  while 


Fig.  1. 


Fig.  2. 


Fig.  3. 


resting  on  end.  Fig.  2,  of  a  frame  composed  of  grids  not  squared  to 
the  hole.  Fig.  3  indicates  part  of  an  assembly  correct  in  both  respects — 
center  lines  a-b  and  c-d  are  square  with  each  other. 

3.  When  terminal  eyes  for  the  car  connections  are  cast  in  the  grid 
and  a  set  of  frames  is  composed  entirely  of  such  grids,  the  responsibility 
of  connecting  the  car  wires  to  the  frames  in  the  correct  relation  does 
not  rest  with  the  assembler;  where  separate  terminals  are  assembled 
with  the  grids,  however,  the  assembler  can  make  mistakes  which  will 
cut  out  one  or  more  grids,  according  as  the  grids  are  assembled  in  series 
or  in  parallel.  If  in  series,  there  will  never  be  more  than  two  grids 
between  mica  washers;  if  assembled  two  or  three  in  parallel  there  will 
be  four  or  six  between  mica  washers,  except  at  the  two  starting  places 
on  the  ends  of  the  frame.  Fig.  4  shows  a  top  view  of  a  frame  composed 
of  ten  grids  with  terminals  "a"  and  "b"  so  arranged  that  current 
entering  at  a  must  traverse  every  grid  to  leave  the  terminal  at  b. 

To  bring  the  terminals  further  from  the  end  plates  and  thereby  re- 
duce the  chances  of  a  flash  to  the  frame,  it  is  customary  to  insert  the 
terminals  in  the  positions  indicated  by  the  dotted  lines  z  and  y. 
It  will  be  noted  that  the  first  mica  washer  still  comes  between  the  termi- 


CONTROL  AND  GENERAL  TESTS 


163 


nals  and  the  second  grid  on  either  end.  In  shop  practice  the  mistake  is 
often  made  of  inserting  the  terminals  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  mica 
washer,  the  result  being  to  cut  out  two  grids  on  each  end  of  the  frames. 
If  the  terminals  are  inserted  at  the  places  indicated  by  the  double  arrow 
heads,  the  result  is  to  cut  out  one  grid  on  each  end  of  the  frame.  Where 
the  abused  section  contains  many  grids  in  series,  the  result  is  not  so 
serious,  but  in  parallel  frames  it  will  cause  unequal  division  of  current 
and  not  only  will  the  frame  deteriorate,  but  the  effect  will  be  felt  in  the 
controlling  notching. 

Fig.  5  shows  a  frame  composed  of  twelve  grids  so  assembled  that 
the  current  enters  at  one  end  and  traverses  the  grids  two  in  parallel;  in 


Fig.  4. 


Fig.  5. 


this  case,  except  at  the  ends,  there  are  four  grids  between  every  pair  of 
mica  washers;  this  follows  from  the  fact  that  since  the  current  zigzags 
across  the  frame  two  grids  at  a  time,  on  that  side  where  two  pairs  come 
together,  there  must  be  four  grids.  These  characteristics  are  useful  in 
telling  at  a  glance  whether  a  frame  is  a  series  frame  or  a  parallel  frame, 
or,  in  General  Electric  parlance,  whether  it  is  an  A  frame  or  a  B  frame. 
With  the  terminals  at  a  and  b  current  entering  at  a  crosses  over 
on  the  first  two  grids,  returns  on  the  second  two,  recrosses  on  the  third 
two,  comes  back  on  the  fourth  two,  goes  over  on  the  fifth  two  to  come 
finally  to  terminal  b  on  the  sixth  two  after  having  traversed  every 
grid  in  the  frame.  The  terminals  can  be  inserted  anywhere  between 
the  positions  indicated  and  the  first  mica  washer  on  the  same  side  be- 
cause those  points  are  electrically  the  same.  If  the  terminals  are  inserted 
at  the  points  indicated  by  the  dotted  lines,  the  result  will  be  to  cut  out 
four  grids  on  each  end;  if  inserted  at  the  places  indicated  by  the  double 
arrow  heads,  a  very  common  mistake,  the  result  will  be  to  cut  out  two 
grids  on  each  end.  The  cutting  out  of  a  few  grids  may  amount  to  little 
or  much;  inasmuch  as  the  grids  are  there  and  there  for  a  purpose,  they 
should  be  connected  to  be  active — otherwise  leave  them  out  to  make 
room  for  more  insulation. 

Assuming  that  a  frame  is  to  be  composed  of  a  number  of  grids  in 
series,  for  current  entering  at  one  end  to  pass  through  all  grids  before 
leaving  at  the  other,  any  two  adjacent  grids  must  touch  or  be  otherwise 


164  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

connected  on  one  side  of  the  frame,  but  on  the  other  side  of  the  frame, 
they  must  be  separated  by  an  insulating  washer.  If  the  grids  are  sup- 
ported by  a  third  insulated  rod  passing  down  the  center  of  the  frame, 
every  grid  should  be  insulated  from  the  grid  next  to  it.  So  far  as  the 
frame  itself  is  concerned  it  is  immaterial  on  which  side  the  first  mica 
washer  is  inserted.  In  laying  out  a  starting  coil  to  be  composed  of 
several  frames  that  are  to  be  connected,  however,  it  is  desirable  that 
the  connecting  jumpers  between  frames  shall  be  short  and  straight;  in 
such  a  case  the  frames  must  be  assembled  to  suit  the  local  conditions, 
otherwise  it  will  be  found  impracticable  to  arrange  them  so  that  terminals 
that  are  to  be  jumped  together  will  be  next  to  each  other  under  the 
car.  Many  conditions  are  simplified  by  so  sectioning  the  complete  start- 
ing coil  that  all  terminals  will  be  on  the  same  side  of  the  coil.  This 
obviates  the  necessity  of  machining  more  than  one  side  of  the  grid,  makes 
it  possible  to  have  a  neat,  safe  connection  under  the  car  and  minimizes 
the  chances  of  a  wrong  connection.  If  the  frames  are  composed  entirely 
of  grids  having  terminals  and  but  one  or  two  kinds  of  grids  are  used  and 
these  are  assembled  into  adopted  standards,  only  one  or  two  kinds  of 
frames  will  be  needed  to  meet  the  demands  of  all  manners  of  equipment. 

Having  completed  a  frame,  it  should  be  suitably  marked  with  a  tag 
under  one  of  the  nuts  or  with  a  name  plate.  The  G.E.  method  of  des- 
ignating frames  is  a  good  one  because  it  is  descriptive.  The  G.E.  grids 
are  numbered  by  casting;  for  example,  one  grid  of  a  certain  section  is 
called  26,507,  another  smaller  one  of  half  the  resistance  per  grid  is 
numbered  26,510  and  so  on,  the  resistance  per  grid  approximately 
doubling  every  third  smaller  number  and  having  every  third  larger 
number  after  the  manner  of  the  B.  &  S.  wire  gage.  If  a  G.E.  frame  is 
composed  of  twenty-four  grids  of  the  section  known  as  26,511  and  the 
grids  are  all  in  series,  the  complete  frame  would  be  marked  ll-A-24; 
the  11  indicates  the  size  of  the  grid,  the  A  indicates  that  all  of  the  grids 
are  in  series,  and  the  24  that  twenty-four  of  the  grids  are  used.  If  the 
twenty-four  grids  were  assembled  two  in  parallel  and  twelve  in  series, 
after  the  manner  of  Fig.  5,  the  complete  frame  would  be  designated  and 
marked  as  ll-B-24,  the  B  indicating  the  grids  to  be  assembled  in  parallel. 
The  same  method  can  be  applied  to  the  Westinghbuse  frames:  thus  a 
frame  composed  of  twenty  grids  of  Westinghouse  section  No.  7468  in 
series,  would  be  marked  68-A-20;  a  frame  composed  of  twenty  grids  of 
section  2119  ten  in  series  and  two  in  parallel,  would  be  marked  l-B-20 
and  so  on. 

Resisters  for  Street  Railway  Service  (By  F.  W.  Harris).— The  cal- 
culation of  the  necessary  resistance  and  amount  of  resistance  material  in 
connection  with  ordinary  street  railway  service  is  based  on  the  hourly 
rating  of  the  motors  in  horse-power.  It  is  generally  assumed  that  an 


CONTROL  AND  GENERAL  TESTS 


165 


amount  of  resistance  should  be  used  that  will  allow  the  hourly  rating 
current  to  flow  in  the  motors  on  the  first  notch  of  the  controllers.  A 
method  of  arriving  at  this  value  is  given  in  the  following  paragraphs. 

The  first  factor  to  be  considered  is  the  resistance  of  the  motors  them- 
selves.    This  may  be  assumed  as  the  average  hot  resistance  of  any  line  of 


\ 


\ 


MOTOR; 


AVEF 


90  100  110  120  130  140  150  160  170  180  190  200  210  220  280  240 

TOTAL  HORSEPOWER 

Fig.  1. — Resistor  design — method  of  determining  average  motor  resistance. 

motors,  as  the  values  for  all  motors  now  on  the  market  are  sufficiently 
near  for  the  purpose.  A  close  degree  of  accuracy  is  not  necessary  for  this 
work.  There  are  in  general  use  both  two-motor  and  four-motor  equip- 
ments which  cover  a  wide  range  of  horse-power.  Hence  it  is  desirable  so 
to  calculate  the  resistance  that  it  will  be  available  for  either  two-motor 


90  100  110  120  130  140  150  160  170  180  190  200  210  220  230  240 

TOTAL  HORSEPOWER 

Fig.  2. — Resistor  design — method  of  determining  required  grid  resistance. 

or  four-motor  equipments.  Fig.  1  gives  the  curves  for  these  combinations 
and  from  these  is  derived  an  intermediate  curve  shown  as  the  average  or 
mean  curve.  This  curve  is  also  an  approximation,  but  it  is  close  enough 
for  the  purpose. 

The  hourly  current  rating  will  flow  in  case  the  resistance  equals  278 


166 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


divided  by  the  horse-power  on  the  hourly  rating  basis.  The  hot  resister 
resistance  is  given  by  plotting  the  mean  motor  curve  from  Fig.  1  and  sub- 
tracting the  values  of  the  mean  motor  resistance  from  the  total  resistance. 
For  cast-iron  grids  an  average  increase  of  10  per  cent,  in  resistance  value 
when  hot  may  be  expected,  and  deducting  this  gives  the  value  of  the  cold 


80  90  100  110  120  130  140  150  160  170  180  190  200  210  220  230  240 

TOTAL  HORSEPOWER 

Fig.  3. — Resistor  design — number  of  grids  required  for  different  services. 

resistance.     This  represents  the  total  resistance  of  the  resister,  cold,  on 
the  first  point  of  the  controller. 

The  number  of  grids  will  vary  directly  as  the  horse-power  and  will  be 
different  with  different  designs  of  grid.  In  standard  grids  now  used  by 
the  large  manufacturers  of  railway  equipment  it  is  often  figured  that 
about  4  h.p.  per  grid  may  be  allowed  for  light  service  and  about  3  h.p.  per 
grid  for  heavy  service.  This  practice  varies  with  different  manufacturers 


100 

|N 

1     6° 

u. 
O 

£  40 


1234  5678910 

STEPS 

Fig.  4. — Resistor  design — proportions  for  different  steps  on  controller. 


but  is  about  as  given  in  all  applications.  In  Fig.  3  are  plotted  the  total 
resistance  and  the  number  of  grids,  these  representing  average  conditions 
as  found  in  practice. 

The  proportioning  of  the  various  steps  has  been  the  subject  of  some 
deep  investigation,  but  it  becomes  comparatively  simple  in  practice. 


CONTROL  AND  GENERAL  TESTS 


167 


Since  the  object  desired  is  to  accelerate  the  car  smoothly,  the  motorman 
is  really  the  controlling  factor,  because  the  character  of  acceleration  de- 
pends on  the  time  interval.  In  fact,  the  men  soon  learn  to  manipulate 
almost  any  combination  within  reason.  It  is  desirable  to  figure  that  the 
motorman  will  pass  over  the  resistance  notches  in  equal  time  intervals, 
but  a  small  variation  will  not  be  noticed. 

The  most  practical  method  for  planning  this  is  to  make  a  curve  as  in 
Fig.  4.  Here  the  percentages  of  resistance  in  circuit  at  any  time  are  laid 
out  vertically  and  the  number  of  steps  horizontally.  In  this  instance 
ten  controller  steps  are  assumed. 

The  straight  inclined  line  shown  in  the  figure  is  a  guide  to  the  eye  in 
drawing  the  curve,  which  may  be  done  in  about  the  proportion  shown. 
This  represents  the  resistance  in  circuit  on  any  notch  of  the  controller, 
the  actual  steps  being  found  by  subtraction. 

In  practice  it  will  be  found  difficult  to  get  the  terminals  conveniently 
placed  if  too  much  attention  is  paid  to  getting  exact  resistance  values, 
and  also  that  it  is  not  advisable  to  be  too  particular  about  these  values, 
because  a  wide  variation  from  the  calculated  values,  even  15  per  cent.,  is 
rarely  noticeable  in  the  performance  of  the  car  under  ordinary  conditions. 

To  Remove  Brushes  on  GE-Circuit  Breakers  (By  G.  M.  Coleman). — 
It  has  been  my  experience  when  repairing  the  brushes  on  the  General 

Electric  circuit-breakers  that  the  shaft  A  , k 

on  top  of  the  bearing  is  cut  flush,  as 
shown  in  the  accompanying  illustration. 
It  is  therefore  impossible  to  get  hold  of 
it  when  repairs  are  to  be  made.  The 
shaft  is  generally  tight  from  rust  or  other 
causes,  and  is  taken  out  with  difficulty. 
To  remove  the  shaft  the  magnet  coil  A 
must  be  taken  off.  As  the  nuts  are  on 
the  back  of  the  breaker,  the  entire 
breaker  must  be  removed  from  the  car. 
This  causes  considerable  work  and  neces- 
sarily entails  much  waste  of  time.  To 
overcome  the  difficulty,  tap  out  the  end  of  shaft  A  for  a  5/16-in.  screw. 
A  small  hand  wrench  can  be  made  by  cutting  a  thread  on  a  5/16-in. 
rod,  as  shown  in  B<  Then  drill  a  3/16-in.  hole  about  3/8  in.  from  the  top 
of  the  rod  and  insert  a  3/16-in.  bar  about  3  in.  long  to  make  a  good  hand 
hold.  This  wrench  is  screwed  into  shaft  A}  and  the  shaft  is  easily  pulled 
out.  After  all  the  shafts  on  the  different  breakers  have  been  tapped  out 
in  this  way  it  is  a  very  easy  matter  to  remove  them  at  any  time. 

Addition  of  Mechanical  Reverser  Throw. — The  Inter  urban  Railway 
Company,  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  has  equipped  its  cars  with  a  mechanical 

12 


Device  to  remove  shaft  of  circuit 
breaker. 


168  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

connection  between  the  master  controllers  and  the  electrically  operated 
reversers  of  the  type  M  control.  J.  E.  Welsh,  master  mechanic,  relates 
the  following  as  a  reason  for  the  added  mechanical  connection: 

On  one  occasion  the  trolley  pole  on  an  interurban  car  broke  while  the 
car  was  running  at  a  good  speed.  The  motorman  then  applied  the  air 
and  the  main  brake  rod  also  broke.  At  this  time  the  car  was  on  a  down 
grade  and  it  was  not  stopped  until  it  had  run  8  miles,  because  the  reversers 
could  not  be  thrown.  Fortunately,  the  motorman  on  an  opposing  car 
saw  the  runaway  car  approaching  when  it  was  a  long  distance  away  but 
coming  toward  him  at  a  fairly  high  speed.  He  immediately  reversed 
his  car,  running  it  backward  just  as  fast  as  he  thought  safe  with  the  trolley 
in1  the  reverse  position.  The  runaway  car  finally  overtook  the  car  that 
was  backing  up  and  bumped  into  it,  but  little  damage  was  done  to  either 
car.  Both  were  alike  and  had  heavy  M.C.B.  couplers. 

The  possibility  of  the  occurrence  of  such  an  accident  brought  about 
the  addition  of  the  mechanical  reverser  to  the  cars  equipped  with  type  M 
control.  All  of  the  cars  are  built  for  single-end  operation  and  the  reverser 
is  placed  under  the  right-hand  side  of  the  body.  A  crank  made  of  fiber 
1/2  in.X2  in.  in  section  and  long  enough  to  afford  ample  clearance,  is 
fixed  to  the  spindle  of  the  reverser.  From  the  end  of  this  crank  a  flat 
bar  of  iron  3/8  in.  X 1  in.  in  section  extends  to  a  bell  crank  under  the  front 
end  of  the  car  at  the  right-hand  corner.  Another  rod  connects  this  bell 
crank  with  a  similar  one  under  the  left-hand  front  end  of  the  car  and 
this  crank  in  turn  is  connected  with  a  7/8-in.  rod  which  extends  up  into 
the  motorman's  cab,  as  far  as  the  left  of  the  controller.  To  the  upper 
end  of  this  rod  a  lever  is  attached  parallel  with  the  reverse  handle  and 
these  two  are  connected  by  a  link  made  of  1  1/4-in.  X3/8-in.  iron,  the 
length  of  which  depends  upon  the  distance  apart  of  the  lever  at  the  top  of 
the  7/8-in.  vertical  rod  and  the  reverse  handle.  By  this  train  of  parts 
the  reverser  is  thrown  mechanically  as  well  as  electrically. 

Simplifying  the  B-8  Controller  by  Eliminating  the  Braking  Feature 
(By  A.  H.  Osterman). — Some  years  ago  when  the  writer  was  in  charge 
of  controller  work  for  the  Lake  Shore  Electric  Railway,  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  he  was  requested  to  simplify  the  wiring  and  reduce  the  size  of  some 
GE  B-8  controllers  by  eliminating  the  electric  braking  features.  The 
cars  had  been  equipped  with  both  air  and  hand  brakes,  so  that  the  removal 
of  the  electric  braking  feature  was  more  than  balanced  by  a  decrease  in 
the  width  of  the  controller  cylinder  from  31  in.  to  19  1/2  in.,  thus  giving 
more  vestibule  space  and  reducing  the  load  on  the  subsills.  The  change 
was  made  by  taking  out  the  stand  wiring,  finger-boards  and  cylinders. 
Then  the  cut-out  switch  box  on  the  bottom  was  cut  to  measure  14  1/2  in. 
and  the  back  of  the  controller  shell  was  placed  in  a  planer  to  be  cut  off 
to  the  desired  size.  The  controller  cover  was  also  reduced  in  width  by 


CONTROL  AND  GENERAL  TESTS 


169 


cutting  out  a  piece  between  the  reverse  and  braking  handles,  after  which 
the  side  and  back  were  planed  to  fit  as  shown  in  the  drawing,  without 
requiring  any  new  castings  whatever.  In  the  transformed  controller 
the  running  and  reverse  cylinders  are  in  their  original  state,  but  owing  to 
the  change  in  the  cut-out  switch  box,  the  -last  two  blades  to  the  right 
were  removed  to  give  the  switch  cut-out  six  knife  blades  instead  of  eight. 
Blades  1,  3,  4  and  blades  5,  6  were  then  connected  with  jumpers.  All 
wires  were  led  to  the  right  side  and  securely  fastened  with  a  piece  of  fiber. 


Arrow  1  Where  top  was  cut  and 
portion  removed. 

•  '    2  Where  side  was  cut. 

»  >     3  Set  screws  to  bold  aide 
to  back  of  stand. 

•  •     5  Fiber  to  hold  wires  in  place 
'  •     6  Wood  Cover 


G.  E.  B-8  controller  braking  cylinder. 


Standard  Car  Connections  (By  H.  Schlegel). — By  standard  car  con- 
nections are  meant  connections  such  that  a  glance  at  any  wire  on  a  car 
will  identify  that  wire  whether  it  be  tagged  or  not — in  fact  with  recog- 
nized standard  connections  no  tags  or  other  identification  marks  are 
needed  because  a  wire  becomes  identified  by  its  position. 

On  small  roads  with  uniform  equipment  the  adoption  of  standard  con- 
nections is  a  simple  matter  not  likely  to  cause  any  confusion;  on  large 
systems  representing  absorbed  roads  of  various  equipments  and  methods, 
many  obstacles  are  to  be  overcome.  In  any  case  if  all  devices — heaters, 


170  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

compressors,  governors,  headlights,  car  lights,  switches,  breakers,  starting 
coils,  arc-light  resistances,  air  tanks,  sand  riggings,  brake  riggings,  car 
cables,  etc.,  are  located  according  to  drawing,  the  task  of  running  wires 
in  standard  paths  is  much  simplified.  Where  such  standard  location 
of  devices  is  not  observed,  the  task  is  more  difficult,  but  satisfactory 
results  can  still  be  obtained,  as  far  as  the  wires  themselves  are  concerned, 
by  running  the  wires  in  certain  fixed  relations  to  each  other.  To  illus- 
trate the  advantages  of  being  able  to  identify  active  wires,  whereso- 
ever they  may  be  exposed,  consider  the  proposition  of  standard  motor 
circuit  connections. 

The  first  step  toward  standardization  is  an  agreement  as  to  the  No.  1 
end  of  the  car.  On  a  single-end  car  this  is  naturally  the  operating 
end  and  no  further  fixing  condition  is  needed.  Ordinarily,  on  double- 
end  cars  the  No.  1  end  is  arbitrarily  taken  as  the  fuse  box,  register,  re- 
sistance or  wall- wire  end;  but  on  modern  cars  where  these  devices  are 
likely  to  be  duplicated  such  a  rule  is  useless,  for  the  "fuse  box  end" 
means  nothing  if  there  is  one  on  both  ends.  Probably  as  good  a  plan  as 
any  is  to  take  the  cash  register  end,  as  it  covers  the  possibility  of  two 
registers.  If  the  registers  are  installed  first,  the  electrical  equipment 
must  be  installed  accordingly  and  vice  versa.  In  general,  change  the  one 
that  costs  the  least  to  change.  An  incidental  advantage  of  having  a 
fixed,  recognized  No.  1  end  is  that  a  motorman  can  readily  tell  the 
number  of  a  faulty  motor  and  avoid  the  hit-and-miss  method  of  cutting 
it  out. 

Motors  of  different  makes  and  even  types  of  motors  of  the  same 
make  may  rotate  in  opposite  directions  for  apparently  the  same  con- 
nections owing  to  the  relations  in  which  their  field  coils  are  connected. 
For  example,  the  GE-57  and  67  motors  rotate  in  opposite  directions, 
so  do  the  Westinghouse  68  and  101.  The  motor  internal  connections 
should  be  such  that  when  the  terminals  are  brought  out  of  the  frame  ac- 
cording to  a  standard  rule,  the  same  polarity  of  field  and  armature  ter- 
minals will  produce  on  all  motors  the  same  direction  of  rotation;  other- 
wise the  wiremen  cannot  tell  how  to  connect  the  motors  of  the  car  wires 
so  as  to  move  the  car  as  indicated  by  the  controller  reverse  handle. 
When  no  rule  is  observed  in  bringing  out  the  terminals,  the  final  results 
are  a  loss  of  time  in  connecting  the  motors,  especially  on  a  four-motor 
car,  delay  in  locating  the  affected  part  in  times  of  trouble  and  confusion 
in  reconnecting  after  replacing  a  controller,  motor  or  equipped  truck. 

Where  the  kinds  of  motors  in  use  are  too  numerous  to  make  the 
changes  necessary  to  have  all  rotate  in  the  same  direction  for  given 
connections,  the  motor  leads  can  be  brought  out  according  to  rule;  then 
the  motors  will  be  recognized  as  divided  into  two  classes — those  that 
rotate  clockwise  and  those  that  rotate  counter-clockwise  for  given  con- 


CONTROL  AND  GENERAL  TESTS  171 

nections,  facing  the  commutator  end.  Suppose  that  experiment  shows 
the  rotation  of  an  armature  to  be  clockwise  for  certain  connections; 
for  example,  the  long  B.H.  lead  being  made  T  or  +,  the  short  B.H. 
lead  being  connected  to  the  top  field  terminal  and  the  bottom  field  ter- 
minal being  grounded.  Having  thus  determined  the  field  and  arma- 
ture polarity  that  produce  clockwise  rotation,  the  wiremen  know  how 
to  connect  the  motor  to  turn,  hence  move  the  car,  in  a  certain  direc- 
tion, because:  (1)  All  No.  1  controller^,  wires  and  F  wires  are  +  and 
all  A  A  and  E  wires  are  — .  Then  to  make  the  armature  rotate  clock- 
wise it  is  only  necessary  to  make  the  left-hand  B.H.  or  long  lead  A,  the 
right-hand  B.H.  AA,  the  top  field  terminal  F  and  the  bottom  field 
terminal  E  or  G.  With  a  standard  observed  rule  for  bringing  the 
terminals  out  of  the  motor  it  is  unnecessary  for  the  wireman  to  look  into 
the  motor  to  identify  the  wires,  for  he  knows  that  the  long  B.H.  lead, 
say  the  one  to  be  made  A  to  secure  clockwise  rotation,  comes  out  of 
the  top  bushing,  the  short  one  out  of  the  next,  the  F  field  terminal  out  of 
the  next  and  the  bottom  or  E  field  terminal  out  of  the  bottom  bushing. 
Once  the  leads  of  both  motors  are  brought  out  in  absolutely  the 
same  manner,  the  next  step  is  to  select  an  invariable  order  for  bringing 
them  through  the  spreader  that  separates  and  supports  the  terminals 
where  they  issue  from  the  bushings.  This  order  is  arbitrary  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  but  should  be  suited  to  that  observed  in  connecting  the 
controller  car  wires  to  the  junction  boxes.  Assuming  the  junction  boxes 
to  be  in  place  on  the  car,  suppose  that  the  rule  adopted  for  connecting 
the  No.  1  controller  wires  to  them  is  as  follows:  facing  the  junction 
box  the  order  of  connecting  controller  car  wires  to  it,  counting  from  the 
right  is  A,  A  A,  F,  E,  G.  Irrespective  of  the  position  or  angle  in  which 
the  junction  box  is  supported,  the  wireman  then  knows  that  when  fac- 
ing it  single  A  lies  to  the  right  and  G  to  the  left,  the  other  wires  lying 
in  regular  order  between  them.  If  the  order  of  bringing  the  motor  ter- 
minals through  the  spreader,  facing  the  spreader,  be  made  just  the  re- 
verse of  this,  the  spreader  wires  can  be  brought  to  the  junction  box  in  the 
same  order  as  they  leave  the  spreader  and  car  wires  and  motor  wires 
of  the  same  name  thereby  connected  together,  because  since  the  spreader 
and  junction  box  face  each  other  what  is  to  the  right  when  facing  one 
will  be  to  the  left  when  facing  the  other.  When  a  wireman  is  ready  to 
connect  the  motors  after  the  trucks  are  run  under  the  car,  he  knows 
that  facing  the  junction  box  the  single  A  is  to  the  right,  and  that  facing 
the  spreader,  the  single  A  is  to  the  left,  G  being  at  the  opposite  end  in 
both  cases.  Furthermore,  he  knows  when  facing  the  commutator  end 
which  armature  terminal  and  which  field  terminal  must  be  made  +  to 
have  the  armature  rotate  clockwise.  As  the  top  of  the  armature  moves 
in  the  direction  opposite  to  that  in  which  the  car  moves,  owing  to  the 


172  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

gearing  between  the  armature  and  axle,  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  tell  in 
which  direction  the  armature  should  rotate. 

If  the  car  is  to  move  to  the  right,  then,  facing  the  commutator  end, 
with  the  motor  occupying  relatively  the  same  position  that  it  will  have 
on  the  car,  the  top  of  the  armature  must  move  to  the  left,  which  means 
that  the  armature  must  turn  counter-clockwise.  If  the  car  is  to  move 
to  the  left,  then  the  top  of  the  armature  must  move  to  the  right  and  the 
armature  must  turn  clockwise.  Knowing  the  rotation  for  given  connec- 
tions, and  knowing  that  all  motor  connections  and  controller-junction 
box  connections  are  the  same,  a  wireman  can  connect  a  motor  up  right 
the  first  time  irrespective  of  its  position  on  the  car. 

Suppose  that  on  connecting  up  a  car  in  the  accepted  standard  man- 
ner one  of  the  motors  turns  in  the  wrong  direction.  If  ringing  out  the 
connections  of  the  No.  1  controller  to  the  junction  boxes  shows  them 
to  be  right  (the  armature  connections  are  always  reversed  in  the  No. 
2  controller)  and  inspection  shows  the  motor  terminals  are  brought  out 
of  the  bushings,  through  the  spreader  to  the  junction  box  in  regular  or- 
der, then  the  reversed  rotation  must  be  due  to  an  irregularity  in  the 
controller  or  in  the  motor  itself.  If  ringing  out  proves  the  controller 
internal  connections  correct,  then  the  probabilities  are  that  the  motor 
has  a  so-called  " left-hand  armature." 

In  actual  service  on  a  road  employing  four-motor  equipments  of  57, 
67,  80,  52,  58,  1000  and  800  (G.  E.)  and  56,  12A,  68,  49  and  101  (West- 
inghouse),  the  57,  1000  and  101  motors  were  in  one  similarly  rotat- 
ing class  and  the  rotation  of  other  motors  was  opposite.  The  standard 
features  on  all  were  those  indicated.  The  instructions  given  the  wire- 
men  were:  "On  57,  1000  and  101  equipments  run  motor  wires  straight 
from  spreader  to  junction  box  on  motors  1  and  3.  Cross  armatures 
on  motors  2  and  4.  On  all  other  equipments  cross  armature  terminals 
on  motors  1  and  3  and  run  all  wires  straight  on  motors  2  and  4." 

Standard  starting  coil  connections  greatly  lessen  the  probability 
of  getting  the  resistance  wires  confused  and  minimize  the  time  of  con- 
necting or  reconnecting  after  disconnecting  for  testing  or  equipment 
changes. 

Standard  disposal  of  the  frames  composing  the  starting  coil  may 
have  to  be  limited  to  placing  the  No.  1  frame  always  toward  the  No.  1 
end  of  the  car,  this  limitation  being  imposed  by  the  fact  that  the  manner 
of  placing  the  frames  must  be  suited  to  the  available  room  under  the 
car — a  very  variable  factor.  However,  if  the  Ri  end  of  the  No.  1  frame 
is  so  placed,  the  No.  2  frame  being  placed  next,  and  so  on,  and  the 
resistance  wires  out  of  the  cable  are  brought  through  a  spreader  in  the 
same  order,  the  resistance  wires  will  connect  consecutively,  and  any  con- 
fusion in  the  connection  will  be  readily  noticed. 


CONTROL  AND  GENERAL  TESTS  173 

The  ideal  starting  coil  connection  is  realized  when  the  frames  have 
their  terminals  on  one  side  and  the  available  floor  space  is  such  that 
the  frames  can  be  installed  in  a  row.  When  the  frames  must  be  in- 
stalled in  a  row  along  the  short  center  line  of  the  car,  a  very  desirable 
way  to  install  them,  the  No.  1  frame  can  be  so  placed  that  it  is  to 
the  right  or  left  of  a  person  standing  in  the  center  of  the  car  and  fac- 
ing the  No.  1  end. 

The  preceding  are  merely  suggestions  adapted  from  actual  experience 
in  standardizing  connections  on  a  system  employing  ten  kinds  of  motor 
equipments.  The  method  to  be  pursued  and  the  extent  to  which  the 
standardizing  idea  can  be  carried  depends  on  the  complications  existing 
in  particular  cases.  In  all  cases,  however,  time,  labor  and  material  can 
be  saved  by  the  adoption  of  standard  connections,  the  positions  of  the 
wires  being  fixed  with  the  guiding  object  of  keeping  the  most  positive 
wires  at  one  extreme  position  and  the  most  negative  at  the  other.  Such 
connections  rigidly  enforced  have  proved  an  efficient  check  on  the  con- 
nections of  fields  and  armatures  from  the  winding  room  and  on  repair 
controllers.  They  have  decreased  air  governor  troubles  incident  to  con- 
fusion of  the  governor  wires,  and  have  emphasized  the  desirability 
of  having  apparatus  installed  according  to  a  layout  adapted  to  the 
greatest  possible  percentage  of  the  total  number  of  cars  maintained. 

Practical  Shunting  Kink  (H.  Schlegel). — Having  occasion  to  run 
watt-hour  absorption  tests  on  a  200-h.p.  railway  motor  equipment,  with 
voltmeter  and  ammeter,  and  the  largest  capacity  of  ammeter  available 


Ammeter 

o  o 


being  a  400  amp.  Weston  instrument,  it  was  necessary  to  increase  tem- 
porarily the  current  indicating  capacity  by  means  of  an  improvised 
shunt.  The  resistance  of  the  meter  was  only  0.00063  ohm,  so  that  the 
cross-section  of  conductor  required  to  by-path  the  meter  alone  would 
have  been  unwieldy  and  the  adjustment  impracticable  with  the  facilities 
at  hand.  The  successful  plan  adopted  was  as  follows:  Two  pieces  of 
No.  4  B.  &  S.  flexible  cable,  each  4  ft.  long,  were  tapped  at  their  middle 


174  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

points  as  indicated  in  the  diagram.  Both  ends  of  the  tapped  cables 
were  trimmed  and  tinned;  one  end  of  each  cable  was  connected  to  the 
ammeter.  To  the  free  end  of  the  a  cable  was  soldered  8  in.  of  J-in. 
brass  rod,  which  was  to  serve  as  a  plug;  to  the  free  end  of  the  6  cable, 
was  soldered  8  in.  of  f-in.  seamless  brass  tubing  to  serve  as  a  socket. 
The  plug  and  socket  telescoped  each  other  snugly,  but  both  were  thor- 
oughly cleaned  and  tinned  to  insure  a  perfect  contact  at  the  sliding 
joint.  The  resulting  fit  was  so  good  as  to  require  a  small  hole  to  be 
drilled  in  the  tube  before  the  plug  could  be  inserted  against  the  resulting 
air  cushion.  As  the  4  ft.  of  cable  leading  to  the  meter  was  just  elec- 
trically balanced  by  the  4  ft.  of  cable  in  the  shunt,  the  duty  of  the  sliding 
joint  in  the  shunt  was  to  admit  an  adjustment  that  would  just  balance 
the  meter  resistance  and  to  serve  as  a  switch  for  opening  and  closing  the 
shunt  circuit  to  note  its  effect  on  the  ammeter  reading. 

The  adjustment  was  tedious,  as  it  was  made  on  a  railway  circuit  of 
very  changeable  voltage;  it  was  effected  as  follows:  The  plug  was  run 
into  the  socket  as  far  as  it  would  go;  the  current  through  shunt  and  meter 
was  then  regulated  until  the  meter  reading  was  approximately  150  amp. ; 
on  withdrawing  the  plug,  the  meter  reading  increased  to  approximately 
300  amp.  The  final  adjustment  consisted  in  so  proportioning  the  amount 
of  engagement  between  the  plug  and  socket,  that  withdrawing  the  plug 
would  double  the  meter  reading  and  inserting  the  plug  would  halve  the 
reading;  this  condition  secured,  the  indicating  capacity  of  the  instrument 
would  be  doubled  and  the  total  current  flowing  at  any  time  would  be 
twice  the  meter  reading.  After  considerable  trial  and  patience,  three 
readings  were  obtained — one  on  withdrawing,  one  on  reinserting,  and 
the  third  on  again  withdrawing  the  plug  from  the  socket — this  set  of 
three  readings  being  taken  to  insure  that  the  current  did  not  change  in 
value  during  the  final  adjustment.  A  higher  reading  ammeter,  two 
ammeters  in  parallel  or  a  wattmeter  would  have  saved  much  trouble, 
but  none  of  these  was  available  within  the  time  limit  prescribed. 

The  adjustment  was  checked  with  a  high-reading  meter  after  the  test 
had  been  run  and  found  to  be  sufficiently  close  for  the  purpose  in  hand. 
It  was  not  absolutely  necessary  that  the  multiplying  power  of  the  shunt 
should  be  a  whole  number  2,  but  by  taking  a  little  more  trouble  to  have 
the  multiplier  a  whole  number,  much  calculation  labor  was  saved  in  the 
subsequent  handling  of  the  1200  current  readings  taken.  It  may  be 
remarked  that  two  ammeters  in  parallel  will  not  indicate  current  equal  to 
the  sum  of  their  capacities  unless  the  resistances  of  the  meters  have  the 
inverse  ratio  of  their  capacities;  of  course  they  can  be  made  to  share 
current  in  any  desired  ratio  by  manipulation  of  their  binding  posts, 
but  with  heavy  currents  flowing  more  than  a  short  while,  this  is  not 
recommended. 


XII 
HEATERS,  LIGHTING,  SIGNS  AND  SIGNALS 

Brooklyn  Heater  Testing. — Heater  tests  on  the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit 
System  are  of  two  kinds,  those  of  energy  consumption,  which  are  made  by 
the  heater  maintenance  specialists  directly  on  the  cars,  as  described 
elsewhere,  and  those  which  are  made  in  the  shops  as  now  described. 
The  purpose  of  the  shop  tests  is  to  make  certain  that  individual  coils 
of  heaters  sent  in  for  repairs  are  of  the  proper  resistance.  The  method 
of  tests  is  to  use  a  modified  Wheatstone  bridge  on  which  the  individual 
coil  is  balanced  against  the  resistance  of  the  master  coil  of  a  given  type 


2  SETS 
5-D  STORIES  BATTERIES 


Wiring  of  board  for  testing  heater  coils,  Brooklyn. 

of  heater.  The  necessity  for  tests  of  this  kind  is  indicated  by  the  fact 
that  there  are  twenty-nine  types  of  Consolidated  and  ten  types  of  Gold 
heater  coils  on  the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  System.  The  master  coils 
of  each  type  are  kept  on  a  board  in  the  local  storeroom  of  the  department 
of  electrical  repairs  at  the  Fifty-second  Street  shop,  whence  they  are  taken 
out  as  required  for  comparisons  with  new  coils  for  size  of  wire,  number 
of  turns,  resistance,  etc.  If  the  coil  is  of  unknown  type  it  can  readily 
be  identified  by  means  of  a  calibration  curve  which  shows  what  the  re- 
sistances should  be  for  different  values  of  current. 

175 


176  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

The  Brooklyn  heater-testing  equipment,  as  illustrated  in  the  accom- 
panying drawing,  consists  of  an  18-in.X36-in.  board  on  which  a  milli- 
voltmeter  and  two  double-pole,  double-throw  battery  switches  and  a  third 
double-throw,  double-pole  switch  are  mounted.  The  battery  switches 
are  thrown  one  way  for  charging  and  the  opposite  way  for  discharging, 
while  the  third  switch  is  so  arranged  that  when  thrown  in  one  direction 
the  current  goes  through  the  master  coil  to  give  a  reading  on  the  meter 
and  when  thrown  in  the  opposite  direction  the  current  is  sent  through  the 
coil  under  test.  If  the  resistance  of  the  coil  is  correct,  the  two  readings 
must  be  practically  the  same.  This  testing  outfit  is  also  used  for  magnet 
coils  and  the  like. 

Specializing  Electric  Heater  Maintenance  in  Brooklyn.  —  The  mechan- 
ical department  of  the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  System  inaugurated  in 
1910  the  specialized  maintenance  of  electric  heaters.  Formerly  the  regu- 
lar maintenance  force  was  employed  for  this  work,  but  it  was  found  that 
some  of  the  men  did  not  have  enough  knowledge  of  the  construction  and 
the  circuit  arrangements  of  the  heaters  to  do  the  most  effective  work. 
This  practice  has  been  changed  by  employing  heater  experts  who  go 
from  depot  to  depot  in  turn  until  all  heaters  have  been  examined  and 
placed  in  first-class  condition.  To  make  accurate  investigations,  they 


DIAGRAM-G 


18   HEATER   EQUIPMENT 


JLJLJLJLJLJUUU 


Coils  of  Consolidated  217  R.  J.  and  Gold  two-coil  column  heaters. 

CONSOLIDATED  217  R.  J.  HEATER 

Cross-seat  Heater  with  Junction  Box  23  in.  long, 

Double  Coil,  Single  Spindle, 

18  Heaters  per  Car 

Diagram  G 

Original  current  consumption,  4-8-12  amp.     Allowable  amount  on  account  of 
aging,  4.2  to  5  amp.  on  first  point  and  8  to  9  amp.  on  second  point. 

GOLD  TWO-COIL  COLUMN  HEATER 

Cross-seat  Heater,  Two  Coils 
18  Heaters  per  Car. 

Diagram  G 

Original  current  consumption,  4-7-11  amp.     Allowable  amount,  3  to  4  amp.  on 
first  point  and  6  to  7  amp.  on  second  point. 


HEATERS,  LIGHTING,  SIGNS  AND  SIGNALS  177 

use  a  low-reading  ammeter  and  voltmeter.  The  ammeter  is  employed 
to  check  up  the  current  consumption  at  the  different  switching  points. 
If  this  consumption  varies  widely  from  the  standard  the  coils  and  their 
connections  are  examined.  The  voltmeter  is  used  to  get  the  drop  of 
potential  across  the  heaters  and  to  ground;  also  to  trace  the  connections 
when  determining  if  wrong  coils  are  in  the  heater  or  if  right  coils  have 
been  misplaced.  The  men  are  furnished  with  a  descriptive  schedule  of 
the  various  types  of  heaters  on  the  system  with  accompanying  wiring 
diagrams  so  that  the  heaters  can  be  readily  identified  and  be  correctly 
connected.  Two  typical  descriptions  are  presented. 

It  will  be  noted  from  the  instructions  that  an  allowance  is  made  for 
the  increased  current  consumption  of  heaters  on  account  of  their  aging 
in  service.  In  some  instances,  however,  the  original  ratings  were  too 
high,  so  that  no  excess  current  ratings  are  now  required. 

CAB 

SSCj-j  DIAGRAM -H 

Lbs&Jt 


CAR    HEATERS    WITH   2    CftB    HEATERS 


Wiring  scheme  of  Consolidated  146  X  heater,  Brooklyn. 

Panel  Heaters,  Two  Spindles,  Punched  Steel  Front. 
18  Car  Heaters,  with  2  Cab  Heaters,  118  W.  and  146  G. 

Diagram  H 

Original  current  consumption,  6-12-18  amp.  Allowable  amount  on  account  of 
aging,  6.5  to  7  amp.  on  first  point  and  13  to  14  amps,  on  second  point. 

To  minimize  errors  in  orders  from  the  shops  for  heater  supplies  the 
mechanical  department  has  prepared  a  series  of  numbered  photographs 
of  the  several  parts  of  each  type  of  electric  heater  in  service.  A  bound 
set  of  these  photographs  is  furnished  to  each  shop  and  storeroom.  The 
photographs  were  made  direct  from  disassembled  heaters  in  the  shops  of 
the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  System. 

The  heater  wiring  diagrams  are  used  in  connection  with  the  photo- 
graphic handbook.  Reference  letters  are  used  in  this  book  to  indicate 
the  corresponding  wiring  diagram  in  the  shop  data  sheets.  The  shop- 
man therefore  has  every  possible  aid  in  identifying  the  exact  style  of  the 
heater  and  in  determining  exactly  what  should  be  done  to  repair  and  wire 
it  properly.  Wiring  diagrams  are  presented  of  the  twenty  styles  shown 
in  the  present  binder. 

A  Stand  for  Headlight  Resistance  Coils. — The  stand  shown  in  the 


178 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


accompanying  sketches  will  be  found  very  helpful  in  repairing  the  Grouse- 
Hinds  headlight  resistance  coils,  when  it  is  necessary  to  repair  broken 
wire  or  to  replace  broken  tubes.  Any  one  accustomed  to  repairing  this 
resistance  will  find  that  after  either  end  plate  is  removed  the  tubes  will 


HEATER  DIAGRAM  ".A" 


HEATER  DIAGRAM  "H" 

Three  heater  diagrams,  Brooklyn. 


HEATER  DIAGRAM  "U" 


fall  together  and  it  is  very  difficult  to  replace  them  in  their  proper  places. 
The  base  of  this  stand  is  an  inch  board  8  in.  X8  in.  in  size,  with  1/2-in. 
holes  laid  off  to  correspond  to  the  holes  in  the  end  plate  "B."  One-half 
inch  pins  are  made  4  in.  long,  and  these  are  driven  into  the  holes  in  the 
baseboard.  When  the  resistance  is  to  be  taken  apart  the  center  rod 


Repair  stand  for  headlight  resistance  coils. 

"C"  is  reversed  so  the  nut  will  be  on  the  other  end.  The  other  rods  are 
taken  out  and  the  resistance  placed  on  the  stand,  then  the  nut  on  the 
center  rod  is  removed.  It  will  be  found  that  the  stand  will  hold  the  tubes 
apart  in  their  respective  positions,  whereupon  the  repairs  can  be  easily 
made.  By  making  two  of  the  stands,  the  resistance  can  be  inverted  and 
the  other  end  plate  also  removed. 


HEATERS,  LIGHTING,  SIGNS  AND  SIGNALS 


179 


Assembling  Glass  in  Headlight  Doors. — When  the  door  of  the  head- 
light is  bent  or  out  of  shape,  it  is  quite  difficult  to  adjust  the  several 
pieces  of  glass  into  place.  The  glass  is  sent  from  the  factory  cut  circular 
in  four  pieces.  It  is  a  long  and  tedious  job  to  put  the  gasket  around  the 
glass  and  place  it  into  the  frame 
straight.  To  avoid  this,  cut  a  paste- 
board templet  the  exact  shape  of  the 
frame  which  is  to  receive  the  glass. 
Lay  the  pasteboard  templet  under  the 
glass  and  cut  around  it  with  a  glass 
cutter.  Tap  the  glass  where  the  marks 
have  been  made  with  the  end  of  the 
glass  cutter.  Break  the  glass  away  to 
leave  a  piece  the  same  shape  as  the 
templet.  Divide  the  glass  into  four 
equal  parts  and  cut  straight  parallel 
lines,  by  the  aid  of  a  straight-edge. 
When  this  has  been  done,  take  a  rubber 
gasket  and  place  it  around  the  edge  of 
the  glass,  first  having  put  a  little  shellac  on  the  ends  of  the  gasket,  to 
hold  it  together.  Put  the  glass  into  the  frame  of  the  headlight  door  and 
fasten  securely  with  the  four  little  clamps,  as  shown  in  the  cut.  Tap 
the  glass  where  the  four  parallel  lines  have  been  cut,  so  the  glass  will 
break  at  these  places,  thus  allowing  room  for  expansion  when  the  glass 
becomes  hot. 


Assembling  headlight  door  glass. 


Circuit  for  step-lighting  arrangement,  Saginaw. 


Step-lighting  Device  for  Saginaw  Prepayment  Cars. — In  1912,  the 
Saginaw-Bay  City  (Mich.)  Railway  equipped  its  prepayment  cars  with 
an  automatic  step-lighting  arrangement  invented  by  L.  A.  Gaw,  master 
mechanic.  The  purpose  of  this  illumination  is  to  enable  alighting  pas- 
sengers to  see  the  condition  of  the  pavement  below  the  step,  especially 
at  street  crossings  without  arc  lights.  This  company's  double-end  pre- 


180 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


payment  cars  have  the  usual  incandescent  lamp  beneath  the  roof  on  the 
entrance  side  but  none  on  the  exit  side.  Under  the  new  arrangement  the 
same  lever  with  which  the  motorman  opens  the  exit  door  serves  to  close 
a  bottom  contact,  thereby  throwing  off  the  roof  lamp  and  throwing  in  a 
lamp  placed  alongside  the  exit  step,  as  illustrated  in  the  accompanying 
drawing.  The  step  lamp  is  cut  out  of  the  circuit  and  the  other  lamp  is 
cut  into  the  circuit  when  the  exit  door  is  closed. 

Method  Used  for  Lighting  .Markers  Electrically. — An  ingenious 
scheme  for  electrically  lighting  the  markers  on  the  Terre  Haute,  Indian- 
apolis &  Eastern  Traction  Company's  in- 
terurban  cars  has  been  devised  by  G.  R. 
Denehie,  master  mechanic.  Heretofore  the 
markers  were  supplied  continuously  with 
current  from  twelve  storage  batteries  which 
were  in  series  with  the  lamps;  now  the  bat- 
teries furnish  the  source  of  energy  only 
when  the  trolley  wheel  is  off  the  wire  or 
the  current  is  off  the  line.  The  original 
method  of  furnishing  the  current  from  the 
batteries  was  unsatisfactory  owing  to  the 
number  of  circuits  required  and  the  reduced 
candle-power  in  the  high-voltage  lamps. 
The  revised  wiring  diagram  is  shown  and 
consists  of  a  7- volt  storage  battery  in  series 
with  four  110- volt,  16-c.p.  lamps.  A  relay 
in  the  light  circuit  opens  an  auxiliary  circuit, 
which  consists  of  four  7-volt,  4-c.p.  lamps 


"°1 

-  ^m- 

2            U      RELAY 

? 

-0- 

| 

? 

-0 

i 

? 

-0 

f 

jiiiii— 

7  VOLT 
BATTERY 


Diagram  of  circuit  for  lighting 
markers  electrically. 


connected  in  parallel.  This  auxiliary  light  circuit  operates  in  series  with 
the  storage  battery  when  the  trolley  current  is  off.  One  110- volt  lamp 
and  one  7-volt  lamp  are  installed  in  each  marker. 

Novel  Route  Signs  on  the  Peoria  (111.)  Railway. — The  Peoria  Railway 
Company  installed  in  the  year  1913  route  signs  of  a  novel  design  on  the 
city  cars  in  Peoria,  111.  The  sign  is  a  triangular  prism  built  of  light 
structural  angles  and  18-gage  sheet  metal,  the  base  being  shaped  to  fit  the 
contour  of  the  car  roof.  Two  signs  are  mounted  at  right-hand  diagonal 
corners  of  each  car,  and  the  right-angle  faces  of  the  signs  are  set  parallel 
to  the  front  and  sides  of  the  car.  These  two  faces  are  17  in.  X18  in.  in 
size  and  take  a  12-in.  initial  letter  and  3-in.  letters  in  the  printed  destina- 
tion. All  letters  are  perforated  with  5/16-in.  holes  which  permit  reflected 
light  from  a  single  16-c.p.  lamp  installed  between  the  letters  on  the  sign 
front  to  illuminate  them  at  night.  The  interior  of  the  sign  is  painted 
white  to  intensify  the  indirect  letter  illumination,  making  it  possible  to 
read  the  sign  easily  at  500  ft.  during  either  day  or  night.  The  lamps  in 


HEATERS,  LIGHTING,  SIGNS  AND  SIGNALS 


181 


the  two  signs  are  in  series  with  the  lamps  in  the  car  and  are  controlled  by 
the  same  switches. 

The  lettered  panels  are  interchangeable  as  guides  in  the  sign  frame 
permit  them  to  be  removed  and  replaced  by  any  other  destination  sign, 
in  case  it  becomes  necessary  to  change  a  car's  routing.  A  complete  equip- 
ment of  sign  panels  is  kept  at  each  carhouse,  and  each  crew  is  required 
to  see  that  the  correct  indications  are  in  place  before  the  car  is  taken  for 
a  regular  run. 

Detroit  United  Train  Number  Sign. — A  novel  illuminated  train 
number  sign  for  the  interurban  cars  of  the  Detroit  United  Railway  Com- 
pany, Detroit,  Mich.,  was  designed  by  its  mechanical  department  in 
1912.  The  novel  features  include  illuminated  numerals,  which  may 
be  easily  changed  to  any  series  of  three  numbers  in  a  cheap  yet 
substantially  constructed  sign  box,  and  the  method  of  mounting 
this  box  in  the  car  window.  Essentially  the  sign  consists  of  a  box 


3 

Electric  Ry.  Journal 


Construction  of  sign  box,  Detroit  United  Railway. 

5  in.  wide  by  8  1/2  in.  deep  by  23  3/4  in.  long,  constructed  of  5/8-in. 
poplar.  The  back  of  the  sign,  which  tapers  from  5  in.  at  the  top  to 
3  7/8  in.  at  the  bottom,  is  provided  with  a  5  3/8-in.  door.  The  front 
is  covered  with  18-gage  tin,  through  which  three  openings,  6  1/2  in. 
by  6  3/8  in.  in  size,  have  been  cut.  Each  opening  is  provided  with  guides 
to  take  the  number  slides.  Just  back  of  this  tin  frame,  and  separated 
from  it  by  an  air  space  of  3/8  in.,  is  a  ground-glass  partition  which  in- 
closes the  lamp  compartment  and  serves  as  the  illuminated  background 
for  the  train  numbers  when  in  position  in  the  metal  front.  The  interior 
of  the  box  is  painted  white,  and  a  16-c.p.  lamp  mounted  near  the  center 
of  the  top  supplies  sign  illumination.  Properly  to  distribute  the  light 
to  the  three  numbers,  a  piece  of  close-meshed  wire  screen  slightly  larger 
than  the  vertical  cross-section  of  the  lamp  is  attached  to  the  top  of  the 
sign  between  the  lamp  and  the  number  plates. 


182 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


In  order  to  prevent  the  numbers  from  being  placed  in  the  sign  in- 
correctly a  rivet  is  set  in  one  metal  guide  of  each  pair  2  in.  from  the 
bottom.  The  numbered  slide,  which  is  similar  to  an  ordinary  metal 
stencil,  is  notched  on  one  side  up  2  in.  from  the  bottom  and  is  5/32  in. 
wide.  This  simple  arrangement  makes  it  impossible  to  insert  numbers 
in  the  sign  box  in  the  reverse  position.  Ventilation  is  provided  by  ten 
3/4-in.  holes  bored  through  the  top  of  the  box. 

When  mounted  in  the  cars  these  sign  boxes  are  placed  in  the  upper 
sash  to  the  left  of  the  front  vestibule,  being  hinged  to  the  sash  rail  at  the 
bottom  and  hooked  to  the  upper  rail.  This  arrangement  permits  the 
sign  to  be  unhooked  and  dropped  so  that  the  numbers  may  be  changed 
as  required  by  the  different  runs.  The  sign  lamps  receive  their  energy 
from  the  car-lighting  circuit,  being  in  series  with  the  lamps  in  the  car. 
Each  box  is  provided  with  a  receptacle  and  the  front  vestibule  has  a 
cord  plug  so  that  electrical  connection  may  readily  be  made.  A  case 
containing  a  series  of  ten  numbers,  three  of  each  kind,  letters  "W"  and 
"X"  for  work  train  and  extra,  and  one  blank  slide,  has  been  placed 
conveniently  in  the  motorman's  cab  of  each  car. 

Manufacturing  Sign  Boxes  and  Signs  (By  P.  V.  See). — Small  car 
shops  seldom  have  the  opportunity  to  manufacture  any  article  in  such 
large  quantities  that  the  refinements  of  tools  and  machinery  that  are  se- 
cured in  factories  can  be  adopted.  At  the  Jersey  City  shops  of  the 


FIGS.  1,  2  and  3. — Dies  for  sign  boxes  and  signs,  Hudson  and  Manhattan  Railroad. 

Hudson  &  Manhattan  Railroad,  however,  the  cost  of  making  400  sign 
holders  and  2000  signs  for  the  same  was  greatly  reduced  lately  by  the 
use  of  some  very  cheap  dies.  An  old  sheet-metal  geared  hand  punch 
was  used  for  the  work.  The  dies  were  made  from  scrap  tool  steel  left 
over  from  lathe  tools  which  had  become  too  short  to  use  in  the  wheel 
lathe.  This  steel  was  annealed  and  rough-forged  and  then  shaped  and 
hand-filed.  The  edges  of  the  die  shown  in  Fig.  1  were  so  designed  that 
the  same  die  would  work  in  various  places  on  the  box,  so  that  it  was 
used  six  times  on  each  box.  The  die  shown  in  Fig.  2,  which  was  used 
twice  on  each  frame,  cut  out  three  sides  of  a  square  and  bent  the  metal 
at  the  same  stroke.  The  three  edges  of  the  die  shown  in  Fig.  3  were 
so  designed  that  the  die  was  used  in  ten  places  on  each  box.  The  ap- 
plications of  the  dies  are  shown  in  Figs.  4  and  5.  When  the  proper 


HEATERS,  LIGHTING,  SIGNS  AND  SIGNALS 


183 


stops  were  placed  on  the  punch  the  most  ignorant  laborer  could  be 
used  to  do  the  work.  All  the  boxes  were  found  to  set  together  perfectly, 
and  the  dies  were  still  in  good  shape  after  the  job  was  finished. 


«— fWUv* 


\  ~  s 


FIGS.  4  and  5. — Application  of  dies  for  signs  and  sign  boxes,  Hudson  and  Manhattan 

Railroad. 

Glass        -  I 


Asbestos-lined  box  for  route  number  sign,  United  Railways  &  Electric 
Co.,  Baltimore. 

Route  Number  Signs  at  Baltimore. — In  addition  to  roller  type  destina- 
tion signs  in  the  sides  and  ends  of  the  monitor  deck,  the  United  Rail- 


is 


184  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

ways  &  Electric  Company  began  to  install  during  1913  route  number 
signs  which  are  placed  over  the  middle  sash  of  the  vestibule.  The  use 
of  a  route  number  is  a  natural  evolution  from  the  Baltimore  system  of 
numbering  cars  or  given  routes  by  hundreds.  Thus  a  car  numbered 
401  has  sign  number  4.  The  route  number  is  7  in.  high  and  is  painted  on 
ground  glass.  It  is  illuminated  by  means  of  a  lamp  which  is  placed  in  a 
wooden  box  lined  with  asbestos  lumber.  A  most  effective  distribution 
of  light  is  obtained  by  using  the  diffuser  of  fine  wire  which  is  shown  in 
the  drawing  of  the  sign  box. 

Painting  Illumination  Destination  Signs  at  Nashville,  Tenn. — The 
largest  single  item  in  the  cost  of  maintaining  illuminated  car  destination 
signs  is  found  in  keeping  the  lettered  panels  in  legible  condition.  •  The 
usual  custom  is  to  retouch  the  letters  by  hand,  but  when  it  becomes 
necessary  to  renew  a  section  of  canvas  to  replace  the  names  of  the  desti- 
nations by  hand,  painting  is  quite  expensive.  To  reduce  this  cost  of 
renewal  to  a  minimum,  G.  W.  Swint,  master  mechanic  of  the  Nashville 
Railway  &  Light  Company,  Nashville,  Tenn.,  has  devised  a  scheme 
whereby  a  thirty-six  name  sign  may  be  replaced  with  a  new  one  at  a  cost 
of  $1.50  for  material  and  labor.  Instead  of  doing  the  work  by  hand  it 
is  printed  on  the  canvas  by  wooden  blocks  of  the  hollow-letter  type. 
The  blocks  were  made  in  the  company's  shops,  and  as  many  were  prepared 
as  there  were  destinations.  The  cost  of  carving  the  letters  in  the  white 
pine  blocks  was  comparatively  low,  and  the  useful  life  is,  of  course, 
unlimited. 

The  complete  printing  outfit  comprises,  in  addition  to  the  hollow- 
letter  blocks,  a  section  of  plate  glass  by  means  of  which  a  composition 
of  printer's  ink  is  evenly  applied  to  an  ordinary  rubber  roller,  a  padded 
table  with  clamps  to  hold  the  canvas  firmly  in  position  and  an  old  arma- 
ture core  which  is  used  to  press  the  wooden  block  type  against  the  cloth. 

The  ink  is  applied  to  the  block  by  passing  the  rubber  roller  across 
it,  and  the  block  is  then  laid  upon  the  white  canvas,  the  armature  core 
being  rolled  once  or  twice  across  it. 

The  quality  of  printing  ink  applied  to  the  hollow-lettered  panels  and 
the  weight  of  the  old  armature  core  cause  the  ink  to  penetrate  the  canvas, 
giving  a  longer  life  than  when  applied  by  hand.  The  names  making  up 
a  complete  set  of  destinations  are  printed  in  series  of  five  to  a  canvas 
panel.  These  panels  are  sewed  together  in  one  long  strip  for  the  car 
signs.  In  case  only  a  portion  of  this  lettered  canvas  becomes  badly 
soiled,  it  may  be  ripped  from  the  rest  of  the  roll  and  a  new  panel  supplied. 
The  work  of  printing  these  signs  is  so  simple  that  an  expert  is  not  required 
nor  even  a  man  specially  detailed  to  do  the  work.  Two  men  familiar 
with  the  operation,  however,  easily  make  eight  five-name  panels  in  an 
hour. 


HEATERS,  LIGHTING,  SIGNS  AND  SIGNALS  185 

Conductor's  Push-button  Signal. — In  all  cases,  the  Denver  &  Inter- 
urban  Railway  puts  a  push-button  stop  signal  for  the  use  of  the  conductor 
in  the  jamb  of  the  door  in  the  rear  end  of  the  car.  This  feature  has  been 
found  a  great  convenience  and  time-saver  both  in  ordinary  operation  and 
in  emergencies. 


XIII 
WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC. 

Oxy-acetylene  Welding  at  Hartford. — The  oxy-acetylene  welding 
system  is  used  at  the  Hartford  shops  of  the  Connecticut  Company  for 
repairing  pinion-end  breakage  of  AA-4  compressor  armature  shafts.  The 
shaft  is  cut  off  for  some  distance  beyond  the  break  and  then  bored  to  a 
depth  of  1/2  in.  to  3/4  in.  for  alignment  with  the  new  metal.  The  two 
pieces  are  then  welded  and  turned  down  to  the  proper  diameter. 

Electric  Welding  in  Pittsburgh. — Since  Sept.  18,  1911,  the  Pittsburgh 
Railways  Company  has  been  using  an  electric  welding  outfit  at  its  Home- 
wood  shops  for  the  successful  repair  and  reinforcement  of  all  classes 
of  metal  equipment  except  those  made  of  gray  iron  castings.  During 
its  first  week  this  welding  system  saved  about  $237  and  every  bit  of  mate- 
rial, the  flux  excepted,  was  taken  from  the  scrap  pile. 

Current  for  welding  is  furnished  by  an  old  GE  booster  set  consisting 
of  a  30-h.p.  shunt-wound  motor  and  a  60-volt,  300-amp.  generator. 
Nevertheless,  the  actual  output  of  the  generator  can  be  varied  from  300 
amp.  to  700  amp.  at  80  volts  to  110  volts,  according  to  the  conditions 
desired.  There  is  enough  reactance  in  the  generator  to  take  care  of  sud- 
den surges  when  the  welding  arc  is  broken.  The  shunt  field  of  the  booster 
is  directly  excited  from  the  trolley  circuit  through  a  resistance  connected 
in  series  with  it  across  the  line  instead  of  being  shunted  around  the  series 
winding  of  the  generator.  The  switch  controlling  this  separately  excited 
shunt-field  circuit  is  locked  to  prevent  anyone  from  breaking  this  circuit 
when  the  set  is  running  free.  The  grid  resistances,  which  are  inserted 
in  the  series  field  in  series  with  the  armature,  can  be  varied  from  0.02 
ohm  to  0.045  ohm,  depending  upon  the  amperage  desired. 

The  welding  flux  consists  of  17  parts  borax,  11/2  parts  brown  oxide  of 
iron  and  11/2  parts  red  oxide  of  iron.  The  electrodes  are  usually  of 
carbon,  but  cold  rolled  steel  is  used  for  such  work  as  welding  sheet  steel 
on  a  gear  case,  the  melting  of  the  electrode  itself  furnishing  the  required 
new  metal. 

The  economies  of  this  method  of  welding  may  be  appreciated  from 
the  following  typical  cases,  which  give  the  price  of  certain  parts  new,  their 
value  as  scrap  and  the  cost  of  rehabilitating  them  for  service.  In  each 
case  15  per  cent,  is  added  to  the  shop  cost  to  allow  for  overhead  shop 
charges.  Welding  labor  is  figured  at  30  cents  an  hour  and  electrical 
energy  at  1/2  cent  per  kilowatt-hour. 

186 


WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC. 


187 


Article 

New 

Scrap 
value 

Labor, 
weld- 
ing 

Carbons 
and  flux 

Power 

Over- 
head 
charges 

Sav- 
ing 

Bemis  side  frame 

$26  25 

$2.18 

$0.88 

$0.37 

$1.92 

$0  48 

$20  42 

Lord  Baltimore  side  frame. 
McGuire  Columbian  side 
frame. 
Westinghouse     No.     56 

28.00 
35.00 

1.83 
1.83 

. 

0.33 
0.33 

0  99 

0.05 
0.05 

0  17 

0.72 
0.72 

2  16 

0.17 
0.17 

0  50 

24.90 
31.90 

motor  frame. 
Westinghouse      No.      62 
motor  gear  case  lugs. 

0.22 

0.21 

0.48 

0.14 

Electric  Arc  Welding. — The  low  cost  and  simplicity  of  welding  by 
means  of  the  electric  arc  make  this  process,  under  some  circumstances, 
the  most  satisfactory  method  of  repairing  defects  in  steel  castings,  accord- 
ing to  B.  M.  Bowers  in  a  paper  read  in  1912  before  the  Associated  Foun- 
dry Foremen  at  Philadelphia.  The  writer  states  that  the  efficiency  of 
the  ordinary  electric  arc  weld  is  generally  about  60  per  cent,  of  the  original 
strength  of  the  material,  probably  on  account  of  oxidation,  although 
greater  efficiencies  have  been  attained.  The  apparatus  usually  consists 
of  a  suitable  tank  filled  with  salt  water  and  containing  two  steel  plates, 
one  of  which  is  connected  to  the  negative  side  of  a  direct-current  line 
ranging  in  voltage  from  110  to  550.  From  the  other  plate  the  cable  is 
run  to  one  end  of  a  carbon  electrode  consisting  of  a  piece  of  3/4-in.  wrought- 
iron  pipe  18  in.  long  and  threaded  at  the  other  end  to  carry  a  3/4-in. 
socket.  In  this  socket  a  pair  of  steel  clamps  holds  an  arc  carbon  1  in. 
in  diameter  and  6  in.  long,  tapering  to  a  point.  A  wooden  handle  is 
placed  over  the  pipe  at  the  center  to  protect  the  operator's  hand.  The 
piece  to  be  welded  is  connected  to  the  positive  side  of  the  line,  and  by 
adjusting  the  steel  plates  submerged  in  the  tank  a  current  of  any  desired 
amperage  can  be  obtained. 

The  intense  heat  and  light  from  the  arc  necessitate  the  operator's 
wearing  a  mask  over  his  head  with  colored  glass  eye-holes,  and  his  hands 
should  be  protected  by  gauntlet  gloves. 

By  bringing  the  carbon  electrode  in  contact  with  the  metal  to  be 
welded  and  then  withdrawing  it  an  arc  is  produced  by  which  the  metal 
can  either  be  fused,  molded  or  melted  away  entirely,  as  desired,  the  heat 
varying  inversely  as  the  length  of  the  arc.  While  the  arc  is  drawn,  weld- 
ing material  is  fed  in  slowly.  This  consists,  for  steel  castings,  of  a  soft 
steel  wire  about  5/16  in.  in  diameter  and  containing  about  0.10  per  cent, 
carbon.  Vigorous  hammering  should  accompany  each  weld. 

For  burning  off  scales,  fins,  gates  or  risers  a  current  of  about  500  amp. 
should  be  used,  and  by  means  of  a  smaller  current  blow-holes,  sand  spots, 
checks  and  cracks  can  be  filled  or  lugs  can  be  welded  onto  the  casting. 

Castings  should  be  heated  before  welding  in  a  forge  and  welded  while 


188  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

red  hot,  but  reheating  of  the  castings  after  welding  is  detrimental.  The 
arc  should  be  as  long  as  possible  in  order  to  reduce  excessive  oxidation 
produced  by  the  intense' heat.  At  times  a  flux  of  melted  and  powdered 
borax  is  essential  as  it  prevents  oxidation  by  protecting  the  metal  from 
the  air.  In  welding  brass  or  other  metals  with  a  low  fusing  point  the 
casting  must  be  supported  in  such  a  manner  that  the  shape  will  be  re- 
tained. The  arc  should  also  be  applied  at  a  low  voltage  and  only  for 
very  short  periods. 

Electric  Arc  Welding  by  the  Third  Avenue  Railway,  New  York.— 
As  an  essential  conditon  to  good  work,  the  Third  Avenue  Railway  has 
the  principal  welding  outfits  and  appurtenances  where  the  welders  can 
labor  under  the  best  conditions.  The  welding  room  is  part  of  a  high 
truck-shop  basement,  and  it  is  bounded  by  the  whitewashed  brick  piers 
which  were  originally  erected  to  carry  cable  machinery.  This  room  has 
a  large  opening  at  the  top  for  air  and  natural  light,  but  two  fans  and  several 
clusters  of  lamps  are  also  installed.  The  welding  section  really  comprises 
two  rooms,  one  in  which  the  work  is  done  and  the  other,  a  side  passage, 
where  the  resistances  and  switchboards  are  installed. 

As  energy  is  taken  direct  from  the  550-600-volt  substation  bus, 
enough  resistance  was  provided  to  reduce  the  voltage  at  the  arc  to  approxi- 
mately 50-75  volts.  These  resistances  are  obsolete  car  grids  which  are 
suspended  from  the  ceiling  of  the  side  passage.  Three  switchboards  are 
installed  as  follows:  The  first  supplies  currents  of  200,  250  and  350  amp. 
for  such  work  as  welding  broken  motor  shell  lugs,  broken  truck  frames, 
etc.;  the  second  board  furnishes  currents  of  75,  125,  150  and  200  amp.  for 
welding  gear  cases,  filling  in  worn  axles,  dowel-pin  holes,  etc.,  and  the 
third  switchboard  gives  currents  of  170,  220  and  270  amp.  The  middle 
board  has  a  connecting  switch  so  that  any  current  within  its  range  can  be 
transmitted  to  a  board  on  the  truck-shop  floor  where  work  is  done  directly 
on  the  trucks.  This  board  is  also  fitted  with  a  recording  watt-hour 
meter  in  order  to  record  the  energy  consumed  for  any  particular  job, 
should  such  data  be  wanted.  This  watt-hour  meter  can  also  be  readily 
transferred  to  the  other  boards  if  desired.  The  total  energy  supplied 
for  all  welding  work  is  recorded  by  means  of  an  integrating  wattmeter 
in  the  feeder  circuit,  and  a  regular  charge  is  made  at  the  rate  of  1  cent 
per  kilowatt-hour  to  each  job  for  the  energy  used. 

Current  for  each  set  is  taken  through  two  circuit-breakers,  one  on 
each  leg  of  the  line,  the  negative  side  passing  directly  through  a  flexible 
cable  to  the  burner  or  torch,  while  the  positive  is  applied  to  the  work 
after  being  led  through  the  proper  combination  of  resistances.  All  work 
is  placed  on  an  insulated  table,  and  the  men  stand  on  fiber  mats.  The 
operator's  torch  consists  of  a  pipe  1/2  in.  in  diameter  and  about  2  ft. 
long.  The  outer  end  of  this  torch  carries  a  carbon  pencil  while  the  inner 


WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC. 


189 


end  is  attached  to  the  negative  lead.  The  back  of  the  pipe  is  well 
insulated  to  permit  its  use  as  a  handle,  and  a  round  fiber  shield  is  also 
applied  at  the  middle  of  the  pipe  to  protect  the  hand  of  the  operator 
from  the  arc.  Each  welder  is  guarded  about  the  head  and  eyes  by  a  hood 
made  of  canvas  and  framed  with  light  tin  in  the  form  of  a  head  band. 
The  hood  carries  an  eyepiece  of  red,  green  or  blue  glass.  A  canvas  shield 
also  separates  the  two  operators. 

The  chief  supplies  necessary  for  this  work  are  the  carbon  pencils, 
welding  powder  and  additional  metal.  The  carbon  is  3/8  in.  in  diameter 
and  6  in.  long,  costs  about  3  cents  and  will  last  a  full  working  day.  In- 
stead of  a  flux,  the  company  simply  uses  for  cast-iron  parts  a  white  weld- 
ing powder  which  costs  but  8  cents  per  Ib.  Pure  Norway  iron  free  from 
carbon  is  used  for  any  work  which  necessitates  finishing — namely,  boring, 
turning,  planing,  drilling,  etc. 

Costs  and  Savings. — The  following  data,  which  are  taken  from  the 
weekly  reports  of  the  electrical  foreman  to  J.  S.  McWhirter,  super- 
intendent of  equipment,  will  convey  an  adequate  conception  of  the  im- 
portance of  electric  welding  from  the  standpoints  of  costs  (neglecting 
the  small  overhead  charges)  and  savings. 

For  the  week  ended  Jan.  25,  1913,  the  record  was  as  shown  in  Table  I. 

TABLE  I.— RECORD  OF  WELDING  DONE  DURING  WEEK  ENDED  JAN.  25,  1913 


Work  done 

Unit 
cost 
new 

Total 
cost 
new 

Welding  axle  lugs  on  seven  Westinghouse-56  motors  (half  shell 
without  fittings). 
Welding  one  K-8  broken  controller  frame  
Welding  five  pony  axles  around  button  
Welding  Westinghouse-310  armature  shafts,  one  broken  and  two 
with  worn  key  way  and  pinion  fit  (shaft). 
Total  

$50.00 

9.00 
7.50 
8.60 

$350.00 

9.00 
37.50 
26.40 

$422  90 

Cost  of  labor 

$36  50 

Cost  of  material  
Cost  of  current  at  1  cent  per  kw.-hr  

Total 

1.50 
30.00 

68  00 

Saving  

$354.90 

In  addition  to  the  work  tabulated,  dowel  holes  were  refilled  in  thirty- 
seven  armature  caps,  seventeen  axle  caps  and  four  motor  shells.  The 
exact  saving  in  the  case  of  dowel-pin  holes  cannot  be  given,  but  it  is  esti- 
mated that  a  badly  worn  dowel  hole  in  a  motor  shell  adds  $50  a  year  to 
the  maintenance  cost  of  an  armature  and  $25  a  year  to  that  of  an  axle 
cap.  The  man  who  welded  the  motor  shells  also  repaired  the  controller 
frame  and  eleven  axle  caps  and  this  work  required  ten  out  of  the  sixty 


190 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


hours  which  constitute  a  week's  work  in  the  shops.  His  wages  for  the 
week  were  $18.  Of  the  charge  of  $10  for  electrical  energy,  $8  were  due 
to  repairs  on  the  motors.  Consequently  the  cost  of  repairing  seven 
motor  shells  was  $15  for  labor  and  $8  for  current,  or  about  $3.25  per  shell. 
This  compares  with  $18  and  $23.50  charged  by  outside  contractors  for 
similar  jobs. 

For  the  week  ended  Feb.  3,  1913,  the  record  of  the  three  operators  was 
as  shown  in  Table  II. 

TABLE  II.— RECORD  OF  WELDING  DONE  DURING  WEEK  ENDED  FEB.  3,  1913 

First  Man 


Work  done 


Unit 
cost 
new 


Total 
cost 
new 


Welding  seven  motor  shells  (half  shells) $50 . 00      $350 . 00 

Welding  one  axle 7 . 50  7 . 50 

Total..  .    $357.50 

I 

Cost  of  labor $15.00 

Cost  of  material 1 .00 

Cost  of  current 8.00 

Total 24.00 

Saving $333.50 

Second  Man 

Welding  eleven  axles $7.50  $82.50 

Welding  one  motor  inspection  cover 2 . 00  2 . 00 

Total $84.50 

Cost  of  labor $15 . 00 

Cost  of  material 1 .00 

Cost  of  current 10. 50 

Total 26.50 

Saving $58 . 00 


Third  Man 

The  work  done  by  the  third  man  was  of  widely  miscellaneous  character,  but  it 
was  estimated  that  he  produced  a  greater  saving  than  the  others,  his  jobs  being  as 
follows: 

Filling  dowel  holes  in  fifty-three  armature  bearing  shells. 

Renewing  nine  Brill  brakeshoe  heads. 

Filling  eleven  dowel  holes  in  axle  caps. 

Welding  one  journal  box.  t 

Welding  one  Westinghouse-56  motor  shell. 

Filling  dowel  holes  in  six  motor  suspension  angles. 

Welding  one  controller  frame. 


WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC.  191 

The  data  presented  are  sufficient  to  demonstrate  the  low  cost  of 
electric  wielding,  but  it  should  be  added  that  the  welded  equipment  has 
proved  good  in  service  as  well. 

Motor  Rejuvenation. — In  addition  to  the  foregoing  work  electric  weld- 
ing has  been  adapted  to  convert  the  No.  56  motor  into  practically  an 
entirely  new  machine.  The  company  has  long  been  confronted  by  the 
problem  of  making  its  220  GE-57  and  571  Westinghouse-56  motors  as 
reliable  and  efficient  as  later  equipment.  These  motors  had  been  in 
constant  service  for  from  twelve  to  fifteen  years,  but  after  the  purchase 
of  interpole  motors  some  three  years  ago  they  were  retained  chiefly  as 
reserve  equipment.  The  growing  business  of  the  company  has  made  it 
desirable,  however,  to  see  what  can  be  done  to  make  this  equipment 
economical  for  constant  service.  The  GE-57  motor  has  received  an 
entirely  new  box  frame,  as  noted  later,  but  the  Westinghouse-56  has  been 
welded  from  a  split-frame  to  a  box-frame  motor. 

Had  the  No.  56  motors  been  continued  in  service  with  split  frames 
it  would  have  been  necessary  to  rebore  the  frames  for  larger  bearings, 
but  this  change  would  not  have  eliminated  the  faults  of  the  original 
design.  Electric  welding,  on  the  contrary,  offered  the  opportunity  of 
reinforcing  the  axle-bearing  supports  and  other  weak  portions.  The 
cost  of  welding  the  first  frame,  including  new  frame  heads,  gear  cases, 
brush  holders  and  other  material  required  to  make  the  motor  operative, 
was  $90;  that  of  the  second  was  $80,  and  in  quantities  the  unit  cost 
will  be  only  $65. 

In  welding  a  No.  56  frame  the  first  step  is  to  place  a  clamp  around  the 
split  frame  and  then  apply  the  electric  arc  to  cut  off  the  old  grease  boxes 
and  ends  of  the  motor.  Following  this,  the  halves  are  bound  permanently 
by  two  cast-steel  rings — one  of  1  1/4-in.  thickness  which  is  welded  to  the 
commutator  end  and  one  of  2  1/2-in.  thickness  which  is  welded  to  the 
pinion  end.  The  rings  are  set  off  about  3/8  in.,  and  owing  to  the  irregular 
shape  of  the  motor  ends,  the  metal  added  may  extend  to  a  depth  of  4  in. 
In  addition,  the  weld  is  further  reinforced  by  the  frame-head  bolts  which 
pass  clear  through  the  ring,  the  intermediate  metal  and  the  shell.  Two 
extra  ribs  are  also  welded  in  to  strengthen  the  axle  lugs.  The  final  step 
is  to  weld  the  seam  between  the  halves  of  the  motor  shell,  but  the  seam 
weld  is  not  relied  upon  to  keep  the  motor  intact,  the  real  strength  being 
in  the  rings  and  bolts.  The  welding  rings  are  machined,  of  course,  to 
take  the  frame  heads. 

The  GE-57  shells  were  not  rebored,  but  as  this  machine  is  a  good 
motor  electrically,  it  was  decided  to  make  a  hybrid  motor  by  placing  all 
except  the  brush  holders  into  a  new  box  frame  of  a  design  very  similar  to 
the  GE-210  motor.  The  cost  of  this  change  is  about  $185  per  motor. 
This  is  not  the  price  charged  by  the  General  Electric  Company,  but  it  is 


192  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

the  approximate  cost  after  allowance  is  made  for  the  scrap  value  of  the 
old  material.  It  does  not  include  any  charge  for  labor  because  the  work 
of  placing  the  old  armature,  fields  and  pole  pieces  in  the  new  frames  is 
considered  as  part  of  maintenance  expense  that  would  have  to  be  gone 
through  with  in  any  event. 

Portable  Heater  at  San  Francisco. — Among  the  shop  appliances  of 
the  United  Railroads  of  San  Francisco,  is  a  portable  electric  heater  used 
for  small  forging  processes  on  truck  parts  or  other  bulky  material  which 
it  would  be  inconvenient  to  heat  in  an  ordinary  oil  furnace.  The  portable 
heater  contains  two  tanks  for  the  fuel,  which  is  crude  oil  and  distillate  in 
equal  portions.  These  are  supplied  under  pressure  to  the  burner,  which 
is  a  blow-torch  and  receives  its  air  from  the  compressed-air  pipes  which 
are  carried  about  the  shops. 

Tool  for  Driving  Nails  in  Inaccessible  Positions. — Much  trouble  has 
been  experienced  in  recabling  the  cars  of  the  Topeka  (Kan.)  Railway 


NAIL  w 

Tool  for  driving  nails  in  inaccessible  positions. 

Company  when  the  point  of  application  is  at  a  point  inaccessible  for  nail- 
ing. In  order  to  eliminate  this  difficulty  S.  S.  French,  master  mechanic, 
has  designed  and  manufactured  a  special  tool  for  this  purpose.  In 
principle  this  device  consists  of  a  pair  of  leaf  springs  to  hold  the  nail  at  the 
end  of  a  tool-steel  plunger.  A  hammer  blow  at  the  opposite  end  of  this 
plunger  drives  the  nail  and  is  returned  to  the  normal  position  by  a  steel 
spring.  The  device  is  simple,  inexpensive  and  will  pay  for  itself  on  a 
single  car  in  time  saved.  The  design  details  of  this  tool  are  shown  in  the 
sketch  presented  herewith. 

Home-made  Metal  Cutter. — The  accompanying  illustration  shows  a 
combination  plate  and  bar  cutter  devised  in  the  shops  of  the  Charleston 
(S.  C.)  Gas,  Railway  &  Electric  Company.  The  plate-cutting  portion 
comprises  a  toggle  lever,  one  arm  of  which  is  a  cast-steel  cutter  for  handling 
any  piece  of  cold  iron  up  to  and  including  1/4- in.  thickness  and  3  1/2-in. 
breadth;  the  other  arm  is  a  soft-steel  cutter  for  hot  iron  up  to  and  includ- 
ing plates  3/4  in.  by  4  1/2  in.  The  cast-steel  cutter  has  a  notch  at  one  end 
to  permit  the  cutting  of  round  iron  of  1/4-in.,  5/8-in.  and  1/2-in.  diameter. 
The  rounds  cut  in  this  manner  need  no  chamfering  to  make  them  fit  stand- 
ard dies. 

Bar-iron  of  7/8-in.  and  1-in.  diameter  is  cut  by  means  of  a  ratchet 
lever,  parallel  plates  and  dies  in  the  following  manner.  The  bar  first  is 


WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC. 


193 


slipped  through  the  corresponding  hole  bored  in  the  plates,  one  of  which  is 
movable  and  the  other  stationary.  The  movable  piece  carries  cast-steel 
cutting  dies  and  is  notched  at  the  top  to  mesh  with  the  ratchet  lever. 
Hence  when  the  latter  is  pulled  over  in  either  direction,  the  dies  are  made 


Home-made  metal  cutter  used  to  cut  bar  iron,  Charleston. 

to  bear  against  the  bar  and  cut  it.  The  base  of  this  combination  cutter 
consists  of  an  old  compromise  rail-joint.  The  plates  for  the  bar-cutter 
portion  were  made  from  abandoned  brakebeams,  while  a  discarded  piece 
of  trolley  pole  tubing  answers  as  a  sleeving  to  increase  the  leverage. 


Wrecking  truck,  Pittsburgh. 

Wrecking  Truck  Used  in  Pittsburgh. — For  pulling  in  cars  with  broken 
wheels  or  axles  the  Pittsburgh  Railways  Company  uses  the  low  truck 
shown  in  the  accompanying  engraving.  One  of  these  trucks  is  hauled 
behind  the  wrecking  car  to  the  scene  of  the  breakdown,  and  after  the 


194 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


disabled  truck  is  jacked  up  the  cradle  is  run  under  it  and  the  truck  lowered 
so  the  wheels  or  motor  rest  on  the  heavy  planks  forming  the  platform  of 
the  cradle.  The  disabled  car  can  then  be  run  into  the  shop  under  its 
own  power.  The  side  frames  of  the  cradle  consist  of  2-in.  X2-in.  steel 
bars  bent  down  in  the  center  and  turned  over  at  the  ends  to  form  the 
outside  pedestal  jaws.  Straps  3/4  in.  X2  in.  are  bolted  to  the  underside 
of  the  frames  and  are  bent  down  to  form  the  inside  pedestal  jaws.  They 
are  continued  across  under  the  journal  boxes  and  bolted  to  the  ends  of  the 
outside  pedestal  jaws.  The  three  planks  forming  the  floor  of  the  cradle 
are  3  in.  thick,  and  are  secured  to  the  side  frames  with  strap  bolts.  This 
truck  is  light  enough  to  be  lifted  on  or  off  the  track  by  two  men,  and  has 
been  found  to  be  very  useful  in  handling  serious  breakdowns. 

Home-made  Car  Hoist  of  the  Choctaw  Railway  &  Light  Company.— 
At  a  total  cost  of  approximately  $40,  M.  Plunkett,  master  mechanic  of 
the  Choctaw  Railway  &  Light  Company,  McAlester,  Okla.,  has  equipped 
his  shop  with  an  air  hoist  of  sufficient  capacity  to  lift  one  end  of  a  30-ton 


JL 


Home-made  car  hoist  used  by  the  Choctaw  Railway  &  Light  Company  at  McAlester, 

Okla. 


car.  Essentially  this  hoist  comprises  two  units,  each  located  about  36 
in.  outside  the  rail  on  opposite  sides  of  the  track.  Each  unit  is  made  up 
of  a  section  of  12-in.  pipe  with  a  6-in.  pipe  inside,  the  base  of  which  is 
provided  with  a  special  cast  piston  head,  and  a  piece  of  70-lb.  rail  is  ex- 
tended between  them  to  support  the  car  body  regardless  of  its  width. 
This  combination  mounted  on  a  substantial  foundation  takes  the  place 
of  an  ordinary  hydraulic  jack.  The  raising  and  lowering  of  the  piston 
of  6-in.  pipe  is  accomplished  through  an  ordinary  straight-air  valve  with 
the  inlet  just  below  the  lowest  position  of  the  piston  head.  Air  for  these 
home-made  hoists  may  be  supplied  either  by  connecting  them  to  the  air 
reservoirs  on  another  car  in  the  shop  for  which  pipe  and  hose  lines  are 
supplied,  or  they  may  be  attached  to  the  air  reservoir  on  the  car  body  to 
be  raised,  thus  causing  the  car  to  raise  itself. 


WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC. 


195 


Cross  Pit  Truck  Transfer  Table. — One  of  the  problems  confronting 
the  master  mechanic  of  a  small  road  where  the  amount  of  rolling  stock 
does  not  warrant  the  installation  of  an  overhead  crane  in  the  repair  shop 
is  the  replacement  of  trucks  at  a  minimum  expense.  This  problem  is 
particularly  pertinent  on  interurban  roads  where  it  is  necessary  to  jack 
up  the  heavy  carbody  to  a  sufficient  height  not  only  to  clear  the  trucks 
but  to  allow  the  trucks  to  pass  out  under  the  pilot.  In  case  it  is  not 
possible  to  do  this,  the  pilot  and  possibly  the  draft  rigging  must  be  re- 
moved, a  task  which  entails  considerable  expense.  In  solving  this  par- 
ticular problem  the  master  mechanic  of  the  Fort  Dodge,  Des  Moines  & 
Southern  Railroad  Company  built  a  cross  pit  between  the  inspection  pit 
and  the  track  on  which  truck  repairs  are  made.  He  also  designed  and 
built  a  comparatively  inexpensive  transfer  table  of  scrap  material  found 


Cross  pit  truck  transfer  table. 

in  the  company's  storeyard.  A  sketch  showing  the  transfer  table  con- 
struction as  well  as  the  cross  pit  is  shown.  The  numerals  on  the  drawing 
give  the  dimensions  of  the  several  parts  in  inches. 

Since  the  cross  pit  has  been  built  and  the  transfer  table  installed  the 
cost  of  removing  trucks  from  cars  has  been  reduced  to  a  minimum.  An 
interurban  car  is  run  on  the  inspection  track  so  that  the  trucks  rest  on 
the  table.  Two  jacks  are  placed  under  the  side  sill  of  the  car  and  bear 
on  the  concrete  cross  pit  walls.  After  the  carbody  has  been  raised  to  a 
sufficient  height  to  clear  the  center  bearing  plates,  the  transfer  table  is 
pushed  by  hand  to  the  truck  repair  track,  where  the  defective  truck  is 
removed  and  one  in  good  order  replaces  it  on  the  table.  The  transfer 
table  is  then  moved  back  to  the  inspection  track,  the  carbody  lowered, 
the  king  pin  dropped  in  place,  and  the  car  is  again  ready  for  the  road. 

Convenient  Car  Horse  Used  in  Denver. — The  accompanying  illustra- 
tion shows  a  home-made  type  of  car  horse  used  in  the  shops  of  the  Denver 


196 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


City  Tramway  Company  in  place  of  the  usual  pair  of  barrels  required 
to  hold  a  carbody  in  position  in  the  absence  of  a  truck.  The  horse  is 
built  of  oak  members,  2  in.  X4  1/4  in.  in  cross-section,  the  timbers  being 
braced  at  the  bottom  of  the  framing  by  two  2-in.  X3  1/2-in.  pieces  and 
tied  together  at  intervals  by  3/8-in.  bolts.  The  horse  is  also  braced  at 
the  bottom  by  1-in.  rods  bent  to  an  upset  which  is  bolted  respectively 
to  the  base  and  upright  members.  The  small  bolts  tying  the  structure 


Plan  and  elevation  of  car  horse,  Denver. 

together  are  spaced  6  in.  apart  on  centers.  The  horse  is  55  in.  high,  and 
is  provided  with  a  4  1/2-in.  spacing  block  at  the  top.  The  two  principal 
members  are  bored  at  six  levels  6  in.  apart  on  centers  for  the  insertion  of  a 
1-in.  steel  pin  to  carry  the  cross-rail  which  supports  the  carbody  end  sill. 
The  bottom  of  the  horse  can  be  set  in  a  space  23  in.  wide  by  24  in.  long  and 
about  20  ft.  of  the  lumber  are  required  in  its  construction.  The  cost  of 
the  horse  complete,  including  labor  and  material,  was  less  than  $3. 

An  Hydraulic  Car  Lift,  Employing  Cables. — An  hydraulic  car  lift  of 
rather  unusual  design  is  in  service  in  the  shops  of  the  West  Penn  Railways 
Company,  Connellsville,  Pa.  A  14-in.  cylinder  is  installed  below  the 


WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC. 


197 


floor  and  near  the  side  wall  a  few  feet  distant  from  the  track.  From  the 
upward  projecting  piston  two  wire  cables  are  carried  to  the  roof  trusses 
and  over  separate  sheaves  placed  in  such  positions  that  the  cables  drop 
down  on  either  side  of  the  car  to  be  raised.  The  cables  terminate  in 
wrought-iron  links  which  support  the  cross-bar  under  the  car.  Admit- 
ting water  on  top  of  the  piston  lowers  it  and  raises  the  car  under  which  the 


Hydraulic  car  lift,  employing  cables. 

cross-bar  or  rail  has  been  placed.  This  hoist  has  several  advantages  over 
the  direct  acting  type  usually  found  in  shops,  as  the  pull  is  always  equal 
on  both  ropes  and  the  carbody  is  raised  without  cross-strains.  The 
absence  of  pistons  projecting  out  of  the  floor  affords  a  free  space  to  work, 
and  as  only  two  cylinders  per  car  are  required,  the  installation  is  cut 
almost  half. 

Repair  Shop  Car  Wheel  Truck. — The  mechanical  department  of  the 
Duluth  Street  Railway  Company,  Duluth,  Minn.,  uses  a  wheel  truck 


198  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

of  original  design  to  move  a  pair  of  wheels  from  a  storage  yard  adjoining 
the  shop  building  to  the  wheel  lathe  and  press.  While  it  would  be  just 
as  easy  to  roll  the  wheels  by  hand  between  these  points  as  to  truck  them, 
the  new  plan  obviates  the  danger  that  the  shop  floors  will  be  damaged  by 
sharp  or  broken  wheel  flanges  when  the  wheels  are  removed  from  one  point 
to  the  other. 

Essentially,  the  truck  consists  of  a  pipe  carriage  balanced  on  a  pair 
of  12-in.  wheels  with  6-in.  flanges.  The  carriage  is  built  of  three  sections 
of  1  1/4-in.  extra  heavy  wrought-iron  pipe,  which  taken  together  form  two 
simple  trusses,  or  the  truck  side  frames.  The  bottom  members  of  both 
side  frames  and  the  handle  used  in  moving  the  truck  about  the  shop  are 
formed  of  a  single  section  of  pipe,  containing  four  bends.  The  upper 
members  of  the  side  frames  are  bent  at  the  center  and  flattened  at  the 
ends.  Both  members  of  each  side  frame  pass  through  a  special  cast 


Car  wheel  truck  loaded,  Duluth. 

bearing  provided  for  the  axle  of  the  truck  wheels.  The  length  of  the  axle 
of  the  truck  is  sufficient  to  allow  approximately  18  in.  of  clearance  between 
the  wheel  flanges.  The  flattened  ends  of  the  pipe  which  forms  the  upper 
members  of  the  side  frames  are  turned  up  so  as  to  prevent  longitudinal 
movement  of  a  pair  of  wheels.  Plates  riveted  between  the  upper  and 
lower  members  of  the  two  side  frames  at  the  car  wheel  gage  lines  connect 
the  two  side  frames,  and  the  car  wheels  rest  on  them  when  in  position  to 
be  moved.  These  plates  project  about  4  in  beyond  the  side  frame  on 
each  side  of  the  truck  and,  together  with  two  24-in.  wedge-shaped  wooden 
blocks  which  are  inserted  beneath  them,  serve  as  inclines  over  which  the 
wheels  are  loaded  onto  the  truck.  The  upper  members  of  the  side 
frames  are  riveted  to  the  tops  of  these  end  connecting  plates  and  serve  as 
stop  blocks  to  prevent  the  car  wheels  from  rolling  off  the  truck  when  it  is 
in*  motion. 

Two  men  are  required  to  load  a  pair  of  wheels,  and  one  man  readily 


WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC. 


199 


wheels  the   loaded  truck  about  the  shop.     The  complete  truck   cost 
approximately  $12,  including  material  and  labor. 

An  Inspection  Pit  Safety  Device. — The  protection  of  employees  has 
received  a  large  amount  of  consideration  in  the  Jersey  City  shops  of  the 
Hudson  &  Manhattan  Railroad,  which  are  in  charge  of  P.  V.  See, 
superintendent  of  car  equipment.  One  of  the  safety  devices  in  use  there 
is  an  automatic  apparatus  which  replaces  the  time-honored  practice  of 
calling  out  in  a  more  or  less  audible  voice  "  Juice  on  car  No.  732"  before 
the  current  is  put  on  a  car.  The  new  contrivance  not  only  gives  a  clear 
warning  whistle  ten  seconds  before  the  current  is  put  on  the  cars,  but  it 
also  keeps  up  this  warning  as  long  as  the  current  remains  on  any  of 
them. 


Rail  in  which  Shop    Tmllej  Aung 


i! 


wmstles 
Q rCoLtactslf ^ 


\tnof  ** 


J3k> 


inder 


Lamps  to  Indicate 
which  Track  Current  is  on 


^ps 

Emergency   f§» 


.  Valve 


Time  Adjustments 


3      To  Air 
L—Supply 


Diagram  showing  complete  circuit  of  inspection  pit  safety  device,  Hudson  &  Man- 
hattan shops. 

The  whistles  used  are  high-pitched  and  of  disagreeable  sound  quality. 
Hence  they  are  more  effective  than  an  ordinary  audible  warning  because 
their  annoying  and  persistent  character  forces  the  repairmen  to  keep  the 
current  on  the  car  no  longer  than  absolutely  necessary.  Before  the 
installation  of  this  apparatus  the  current  was  often  on  the  contact  shoes 
for  an  hour  or  two  at  a  time.  Now  the  cars  are  not  alive  more  than  ten 
or  fifteen  minutes  a  day  and  usually  about  one  minute  at  a  time. 

The  apparatus  consists  of  four  Westinghouse  air  signal  whistles 
which  are  equally  placed  throughout  the  length  of  the  400-ft.  inspection 
pit,  one  electropneumatic  valve,  two  contactors  and  one  piston  with 
contacts.  The  accompanying  diagram  shows  the  complete  circuit. 
When  a  switchman  desires  to  move  a  car  he  proceeds  as  follows: 

He  first  puts  the  Coburn  trolley,  which  is  dead,  into  the  car  and  turns 
on  one  of  the  snap  switches  which  are  mounted  on  the  neighboring 
wall.  This  switch  has  a  double  circuit,  one  point  making  a  ground  for 
the  No.  1  or  No.  2  contactor  shown,  depending  on  the  side  of  the  car- 

14 


200 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


house.  The  same  switch  also  completes  the  circuit  for  the  magnets, 
which  operate  the  air  whistles,  by  grounding  them.  The  whistles  then 
start  to  blow. 

On  the  air  line  with  the  whistles  is  a  brass  tube  with  piston  which  is 
connected  to  a  heavy  weight  A  small  adjustable  leakage  valve  near 
this  piston  regulates  the  building  up  of  the  air-pressure  in  this  line. 
As  the  pressure  increases  it  raises  the  piston  and  weight.  Four  contact 
fingers  are  fastened  on  this  weight.  When  the  piston  is  raised  to  the 
top  of  its  stroke  it  makes  contact  with  two  other  fingers,  thereby  com- 
pleting the  circuit  for  the  No.  1  or  No.  2  contactor,  picking  it  up  and  ener- 
gizing the  Coburn  trolley.  When  the  switchman  turns  off  the  snap 
switch  the  trolley  removed  from  the  car  is  no  longer  alive,  and  there 
is  no  possibility  that  the  operator  will  receive  a  shock  should  the  in- 
sulation on  the  cable  be  defective. 

Protection  of  Workmen  at  Southern  Pacific  Electric  Shops  (Abstract 
of  article  originally  published  in  the  Travelers'  Standard) . — When  moving 


HOUSE  TROLLEY   1200  VOLTS 


YARD  TROLLEY 


5-220  VOLT  LAMPS 
^-VjlED  SEMAPHORE  LENS 


1-220  VOLT  LAMP 
-'-'HI  PLAIN  GREEN  LENS 


ARD  CIRCUIT  BREAKE 
N0.1  (HELD  I 
ONLY  BY  HOLDIf 
THE  OPERATING 
SWITCH  IN  THE 
"ON"  POSITION 


220  VOLT   LINE   SWITCH 


MAGNET  VALVE  FOR 
AIR  SIGNAL  WHISTLE 
IN  CENTER  OF  SHOP 


ONHJ-i-OFF 
OPERATING    SWITCH 


Wiring  diagram  of  safety  circuit  breakers,  Southern  Pacific  shops. 

cars  into  or  out  of  the  electric  railway  shops  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Railway,  Oakland,  Cal.,  it  is  necessary  to  energize  the  overhead  line  with 
1200  volts.  A  green  light  installed  over  each  track  at  one  end  of  the 
building  indicates  that  the  line  below  it  is  grounded,  and  not  energized, 
while  a  corresponding  red  light  indicates  that  the  line  is  energized,  with 
1200  volts  potential.  If  the  line  is  not  energized  but  is  not  grounded  nei- 
ther light  shows.  Furthermore,  an  alarm  whistle  is  located  near  the  cen- 
ter of  the  building,  and  one  blast  is  given  upon  it  when  the  line  is  about 


WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC.  201 

to  be  energized.  By  repeatedly  throwing  the  operating  switch  to  the 
"off"  position  the  whistle  is  then  made  to  sound  the  number  of  the 
track  on  which  cars  are  to  be  moved.  Upon  hearing  the  whistle  all 
employees  who  may  be  working  on  or  about  the  cars  are  supposed  to 
stand  clear  of  the  cars  and  the  overhead  line  and  to  wait  for  the  appear- 
ance of  the  red  light.  If  it  should  appear  over  the  track  on  which  a  man 
is  employed  he  must  not  return  to  work  until  the  line  is  again  cleared  and 
grounded,  as  indicated  by  the  return  of  the  green  signal.  The  switches 
governing  the  energizing  of  the  overhead  shop  trolley  wires  are  under 
lock  and  key,  and  their  care  rests  with  the  shop  foreman. 

The  yard  trolley  wire,  which  is  charged  continuously  to  1200  volts, 
is  insulated  from  the  trolley  wire  in  the  shop  by  means  of  a  section  insu- 
lator, located  at  the  top  of  the  door  frame.  The  two  wires  are  connected 
through  a  circuit-breaker  designated  in  the  accompanying  wiring  diagram 
as  "yard  circuit-breaker  No.  1,"  which  is  protected  by  a  500-amp.  copper- 
ribbon  fuse.  Another  circuit-breaker,  designated  as  "house  circuit- 
breaker  No.  2,"  serves  to  ground  the  trolley  wire  inside  the  shop.  Both 
circuit-breakers  are  located  on  the  wall  above  the  doors,  and  controlled 
through  a  secondary  or  auxiliary  circuit,  by  means  of  an  operating  switch 
fixed  upon  the  end  wall  of  the  building  at  a  point  convenient  for  manipu- 
lation from  the  floor.  The  operating  switch  is  supplied  with  current  from 
the  220-volt  shop  circuit  and  is  protected  by  a  3-amp.  fuse  inclosed  in  the 
line  switch.  The  operating  circuit  is  so  interlocked  that  the  two  circuit- 
breakers  operate  alternately.  Circuit-breaker  No.  1  is  held  in  the  closed 
position  by  the  operating  circuit,  but  only  as  long  as  the  operator  holds 
the  switch  handle  in  the  "on"  position;  and  circuit-breaker  No.  2,  when 
closed  by  the  operating  circuit,  is  held  in.  this  position  by  means  of  an  inte- 
gral mechanical  lock.  The  operating  coil  on  circuit-breaker  No.  2  is 
connected  in  parallel  with  a  valve  which  operates  the  air  whistle.  The 
operating  switch  is  located  in  a  special  box,  the  door  of  which  has  a  metal 
contact,  indicated  diagrammatically  at  A,  which  energizes  the  magnet- 
valve  circuit  as  soon  as  the  door  is  disturbed  and  thus  sounds  the  alarm 
whistle  and  gives  warning  that  one  of  the  shop  trolleys  is  about  to  be 
energized.  A  mechanical  trigger  is  also  installed  in  the  operating  switch 
box  and  interlocked  with  the  handle  of  the  switch  in  such  a  way  that  this 
handle  must  be  moved  to  the  position  which  energizes  the  valve  magnet 
and  the  operating  coil  on  circuit-breaker  No.  2,  thus  insuring  that  the 
whistle  is  sounded  before  any  other  operation  of  the  switches  can  be  made. 
The  breaker  is  closed  at  the  same  time,  connecting  the  shop  trolley  to 
ground.  • 

To  close  circuit-breaker  No.  1  it  is  first  necessary  to  open  circuit- 
breaker  No.  2,  because  the  operating  coil  on  circuit-breaker  No.  1  and 
the  trip  coil  on  circuit-breaker  No.  2  are  connected  in  series  with  contacts 


202  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

on  circuit-breaker  No.  2  and  interlocked.  When  the  handle  of  the 
operating  switch  is  placed  in  the  "on"  position  the  trip  coil  on  circuit- 
breaker  No.  2  is  energized,  opening  the  circuit-breaker,  and  through 
its  interlocks  the  control  circuit  for  the  operating  coil  on  circuit-breaker 
No.  1  is  energized,  thus  closing  circuit-breaker  No.  1.  Circuit-breaker 
No.  1  is  equipped  with  an  interlock  which  open-circuits  the  operating 
switch  to  the  operating  coil  of  the  No.  2  breaker,  thereby  making  it 
impossible  to  manipulate  No.  2  breaker  at  an  improper  time. 

When  the  shop  trolley  is  energized  current  is  supplied  to  the  sema- 
phore lens  lamps  that  show  through  the  red  lens.  This  indicates  that 
the  trolley  is  energized.  When  circuit-breaker  No.  2  is  closed  and  No.  1 
is  open  the  green  semaphore  lens  lamps  are  lighted,  and  the  green  light 
indicates  that  the  shop  trolley  wire  is  grounded. 

A  car  is  moved  in  or  out  of  the  shop  as  follows:  The  shop  foreman, 
as  the  only  one  with  a  key  to  the  switch  box,  must  first  be  notified. 
He  cannot  move  the  operating  switch  or  the  line  switch  without  first 
opening  the  door  of  the  box.  The  act  of  opening  the  door  automatically 
blows  the  alarm  whistle  in  the  center  of  the  shop.  After  the  door  is 
opened  the  foreman  must  unlock  the  handle  of  the  operating  switch. 
This  act  blows  the  alarm  whistle  a  second  time  and  simultaneously 
throws  current  into  the  operating  coils  of  the  circuit-breaker  through  which 
the  house  trolley  is  grounded — the  object  being  to  test  the  condition  of 
the  circuits  by  insuring  that  the  house  trolley  wire  is  grounded  at  the  time 
the  alarm  whistle  is  blown.  In  the  meantime  house  circuit-breaker  No. 
2  is  held  in,  mechanically,  by  a  toggle.  Hence  it  is  remotely  possible 
that  a  mechanical  shock  may  have  released  it  and  placed  the  trolley  wire 
in  a  dangerous  condition  before  the  sounding  of  the  whistle.  The  handle 
of  the  operating  switch  is  now  in  a  position  where  its  operation  will  trip 
the  ground  circuit-breaker,  relieve  the  house  trolley  wire  from  its  ground 
connection,  energize  the  operating  coil  of  the  breaker  through  which  the 
yard  potential  is  conveyed  to  the  house  trolley  wire,  and  change  the 
semaphore  lamps  from  green  to  red  on  the  trolley  wire  energized. 

When  the  car  movement  is  complete  and  it  is  desired  to  clear  the 
house  trolley  wire,  the  operations  take  place  in  the  reverse  order,  with 
this  important  difference — that  in  case  the  foreman  neglects  to  throw 
the  handle  of  the  operating  switch  into  its  locked  position  and  thereby 
to  energize  the  operating  coil  of  the  house  circuit-breaker  through  which 
the  house  trolley  wire  is  grounded,  his  omission  is  rectified  automatically 
by  a  mechanical  connection  on  the  switch  door,  by  means  of  which  the 
handle  of  the  operating  switch  is  placed  in  its  normal  closed  position. 
It  thus  energizes  the  operating  coil  of  the  ground  circuit-breaker  and 
sounds  the  alarm  whistle  to  indicate  to  the  men  that  the  potential  has 
been  cut  off  from  the  house  trolley  wires. 


WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC.  203 

A  Novel  Axle  Straightener. — The  mechanical  department  of  the  Little 
Rock  (Ark.)  Railway  &  Electric  Company  has  had  in  service  for  some 
time  a  home-made  axle  straightener  which  is  used  for  either  hot  or  cold 
straightening  of  bent  axles  and  shafts.  As  shown  in  the  illustration,  the 
device  consists  of  a  substantially  built  carriage  mounted  on  an  ordinary 
lathe  bed,  two  bearing  blocks  which  may  be  raised  or  lowered  by  a  set  of 
shims  and  a  3  1/2-in.  screw  which  passes  through  the  upper  casting  of 
the  carriage.  A  swivel  bearing  at  the  foot  of  the  screw  comes  in  contact 
with  the  axle  between  the  two  bearing  blocks  so  that  kinks  may  be  taken 


Axle  straightener,  Little  Rock. 

out  of  the  axle  without  putting  a  strain  on  the  lathe  centers.  The 
device  is  light  enough  to  be  readily  removed  from  the  lathe  bed  whenever 
it  is  desired  to  use  the  lathe  for  other  purposes. 

Lathe  Attachment  for  Boring  Bearings. — To  reduce  to  a  minimum 
the  time  required  to  center  rebabbitted  bearings  in  the  lathe,  C.  W. 
Day,  master  mechanic  Oklahoma  Railway  Company,  of  Oklahoma 
City,  has  designed  and  built  a  self-centering  bearing  boring  attachment 
of  which  view  is  shown  on  page  204.  This  is  made  up  of  two  jaw  castings 
mounted  on  the  lathe  carriage  and  permanently  connected  by  a  right 
and  left  screw.  They  are  kept  in  line  with  the  lathe  centers  by  a  fork 
screwed  into  the  exact  center  of  the  carriage,  the  two  prongs  of  this 
fork  engaging  with  a  groove  cut  at  the  center  of  the  right  and  left  screw 
shaft.  An  extension  of  the  right  and  left  screw  through  the  jaw  cast- 
ing on  the  operator's  side  of  the  lathe  permits  the  jaws  to  be  opened  or 
clamped  firmly  on  the  bearing  to  be  bored  by  turning  a  hand  wheel. 

In  combination  with  the  self-centering  bearing  boring  attachment  a 
special  boring  bar  has  been  provided  which  is  set  in  position  between  the 
headstock  and  tailstock.  The  end  of  the  boring  bar  mounted  on  the 
headstock  has  been  tapped  out  so  as  to  take  the  place  of  the  lathe  chuck 


204 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


and  the  cutting  tool  is  wedged  in  a  slot  in  the  bar.  The  length  of  the  bar 
permits  the  use  of  two  cutting  tools,  one  for  the  roughing  out  and  the  other 
for  the  finishing  out,  making  the  boring  of  a  bearing  complete  with  one 


Lathe  attachment  for  boring  motor  bearings,  Oklahoma  City. 

operation.     The  complete  attachment  costs  approximately  $40  and  has 
more  than  paid  for  itself  by  improved  workmanship  in  the  bearings  bored. 

k —        --24^---    — *| 

rT 


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(< 20 *i 

Lumber  roller  for  handling  long  timbers,  Worcester. 

Handling  Long  Timbers. — To  facilitate  the  handling  of  long  timbers 
at  the  shops  of  the  Worcester  (Mass.)  Street  Railway,  two  horses  with 
roller  attachments  have  been  developed  by  the  foreman  of  the  depart- 


WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC.  205 

ment.  As  shown  in  the  sketch  on  page  204,  each  consists  of  a  16-in. 
oak  roller,  4  in.  in  diameter,  supported  on  a  maple  and  hard-pine  adjust- 
able frame  having  a  range  of  16  in.  in  height  above  the  floor,  the  frame 
being  locked  in  position  by  a  hand-turned  bolt  at  any  desired  point. 

A  Handy  Armature  Truck. — The  armature  shop  of  the  Pittsburgh 
Railways  Company  is  in  a  building  separated  by  an  alleyway  from  the 
truck  repair  shop.  All  armatures  going  to  or  from  the  shop  have  to  be 
hauled  100  ft.  or  more  across  this  alley,  and  a  convenient  form  of  truck 
has  been  devised  for  this  purpose.  It  consists  of  a  pair  of  iron  wheels, 
12  in.  in  diameter,  turning  loosely  on  an  axle.  Mounted  on  this  axle 
is  a  forked  iron  frame  terminating  in  a  long  handle  and  cross-bar.  The 
forked  arms  are  curved  downward  to  form  a  resting  place  for  the  armature 


Handy  armature  truck,  Pittsburgh. 

shaft.  By  elevating  the  handle  of  the  truck  the  forked  arms  can  be  low- 
ered and  pushed  under  the  shaft  of  an  armature  lying  on  the  floor.  When 
the  handle  is  lowered  to  about  waist  height  the  armature  is  lifted  clear  of 
the  floor  and  the  truck  can  be  moved  anywhere  about  the  shop. 

An  Armature  Wagon. — Among  the  labor-saving  devices  at  the  Cold 
Springs  shops  of  the  International  Railway  Company  is  the  armature 
wagon  which  is  shown  in  detail  in  the  top  drawing  on  page  206.  The 
wagon  proper  consists  of  a  cast-iron  arched  trunnion  supported  on  two 
carriage  wheels.  A  shaft  with  a  cross-handle  bar  is  bolted  to  the  trun- 
nion. The  chief  novelty  is  the  use  of  the  compression  spring  to  aid  in 
picking  up  and  carrying  armatures.  Two  steel  hooks  are  carried  from 
the  two  ends  of  a  cross-bar  flexibly  hung  from  a  bolt  which  passes  up 
through  the  top  of  the  arch  and  through  the  compression  spring.  This 
bolt  is  threaded  at  the  top  for  a  nut.  In  use  the  arch  is  tilted  first  one 
way  and  then  the  other,  thus  allowing  the  hooks  to  pick  up  an  armature 
from  the  floor.  The  device  is  very  light,  easy  to  manipulate  and  durable. 
The  spring  support  produces  such  a  good  cushioning  effect  that  the  wagon 


206 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


can  be  run  rapidly  on  an  uneven  floor  without  risk  of  injury  to  the  arma- 
ture. This  armature  wagon  was  designed  by  W.  H.  Evans  when  he  was 
master  mechanic  of  the  railway. 


c 


Front  view  of  armature  wagon,  Buffalo. 


Details  of  pinion  puller,  Columbus. 

Ingenious  Pinion  Puller. — The  mechanical  department  of  the  Colum- 
bus Railway  &  Light  Company  has  designed  and  manufactured  a  pinion 
puller  the  detailed  construction  of  which  is  shown  herewith.  Several 


WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC. 


207 


different  sizes  of  pullers  have  been  manufactured  to  fit  the  different-sized 
pinions  used  in  the  various  equipments.  The  device  is  comparatively 
light  and  the  cost  of  manufacture  low,  owing  to  its  simple  construction. 

The  pinion  puller  consists  of  a  cast-steel  ring  made  in  two  sections 
which  are  held  together  by  two  stud  bolts.  The  inside  diameter  of  the 
ring  is  the  same  as  the  over-all  diameter  of  the  pinion.  One  diameter 
was  reduced,  however,  by  cutting  1/32  in.  from  the  adjoining  faces  of 
each  section  so  as  to  permit  the  ring  to  be  clamped  tightly  in  position 
should  the  pinion  be  worn.  A  1/16-in.  shoulder  is  provided  at  the  back 
of  the  inside  cylinder  which  furnishes  the  bearing  against  which  the  teeth 
rest  in  the  removing  process. 

The  yolk  is  of  cast  steel  and  is  fitted  with  two  2-in.X8  1/2-in.  stud 
bolts,  which  screw  into  lugs  provided  on  the  sections  of  the  pulling  ring. 
The  liberal  length  of  these  bolts  permits  of  the  adjustment  of  the  yoke  to 
the  proper  working  position.  A  section  of  shafting  of  sufficient  length 
to  permit  the  pinion  to  be  removed  from  the  shaft  with  one  application 
of  the  puller  is  inserted  between  the  yoke  and  the  armature.  This  fur- 
nishes a  bearing  for  the  yoke  on  the  armature  shaft  and  permits  the  two 
bolts  which  clamp  the  yoke  to  the  pulling  ring  to  be  tightened  to  a  point 
where  the  pinion  is  forced  from  the  shaft. 


% "STOCK,  w,i 


,/FOOT  REST 


Armature  truck  of  skeleton  type,  Worcester. 

Armature  Truck  of  Skeleton  Type. — Among  the  labor-saving  devices 
in  use  by  the  Worcester  (Mass.)  Street  Railway  is  an  armature  truck  of 
the  skeleton  type  shown  in  the  sketch  on  this  page.  This  truck  has  two 
8-in.  wheels  with  3  1/2-in.  treads  and  a  20-in.  handle  carried  56  in.  from 
the  floor  at  the  top  of  a  3/4-in.  wrought-iron  bar  carried  to  the  center  of 
the  wheel  shaft.  A  foot  rest  is  provided  on  the  main  bar  20  in.  above 


208 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


the  floor.  The  armatures  are  carried  on  U-shaped  holders  forged  at  the 
ends  of  extension  pieces  12  in.  long.  The  truck  design  permits  the  hand- 
ling of  armatures  on  the  cantilever  principle,  and  the  balancing  of  the 
equipment  is  one  of  the  convenient  features  of  this  home-made  device. 

Lathe  as  Slotter  and  Bander. — On  the  Hudson  River  &  Eastern  Trac- 
tion Company's  lines  the  grades  are  severe  and  the  motors  have  to  be 
operated  under  arduous  conditions.  Hard  brushes  are  used  which  keep 
the  motors  running  but  are  hard  on  the  commutators,  and  some  time  ago 
H.  E.  Kay,  master  mechanic,  came  to  the  decision  that  it  would  be  desir- 
able to  slot  the  commutators  to  overcome  the  rapid  wear. 

In  consequence,  a  commutator  slotter,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying 
illustration,  was  made  up  in  the  shop  from  materials  easily  procured  and 


Engine  lathe  equipped  for  slotting  commutators,  Hudson  River  &  Eastern  Traction  Co. 

at  a  practically  negligible  cost.  With  this  Westinghouse  No.  49  motors 
having  117  slots  in  the  commutator  can  be  slotted  in  forty  minutes.  The 
slotting  equipment,  which  is  applied  to  one  of  the  standard  engine  lathes 
in  the  shop,  consists  of  a  piece  of  board  bolted  to  the  T-slots  on  the  lathe 
carriage,  upon  which  is  clamped  a  small  motor,  the  clamps  permitting 
easy  alignment  for  the  belt.  An  iron  bracket  bent  at  right  angles  is 
bolted  in  the  slot  in  the  tool  carriage,  from  which  the  tool  post  is  re- 
moved, and  to  the  vertical  side  of  this  bracket  is  bolted  an  old  slide  rest 
set  vertically,  thus  permitting  the  raising  or  lowering  of  the  bearing  for 
the  saw  arbor,  which  is  bolted  to  the  old  slide  rest  in  place  of  the  original 
tool  post.  The  arbor  or  shaft  which  carries  the  saw  is  equipped  with  a 
pulley  on  the  opposite  end,  and  over  this  is  run  a  belt  to  the  pulley  of  the 
small  motor. 

The  slotter  permits  horizontal  adjustment  of  the  saw  by  moving  the 
tool  carriage  of  the  lathe  in  or  out  in  addition  to  the  vertical  adjustment 
obtained  through  the  use  of  the  vertical  slide  rest.  It  is  also  possible,  by 
shifting  the  tailstock,  to  follow  with  the  saw  any  segments  which  are  not 
in  perfect  alignment  with  the  armature  shaft. 


WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC.  209 

The  same  lathe  is  also  used  for  a  banding  machine,  as  shown  in  another 
illustration,  by  running  the  lathe  at  the  lowest  speed,  or  11  r.p.m.,  ten- 
sion being  put  upon  the  wire  by  means  of  a  slotted  stick  of  maple  with 
bolts  through  the  end  to  clamp  the  wire  between  the  two  sides  of  the  slot. 
This  stick  rests  against  the  rear  of  the  lathe  bed.  The  wire  is  carried 
on  an  ingenious  home-made  reel.  This  was  cast  in  iron,  using  a  bell- 
cord  spool  for  a  pattern.  After  the  ends  of  the  spool  were  faced  off  and 
centered  a  small  hole  was  drilled  through  the  core  so  that  the  wire  could 
be  attached  when  the  process  of  winding  was  begun.  Two  7/8-in.  bolts 


Engine  lathe  equipped  for  banding  armatures,  Hudson  River  &  Eastern  Traction  Co. 

were  then  pointed  to  match  the  centers  in  the  spool  ends  and  screwed  into 
tapped  holes  in  angle-iron  brackets,  which  in  turn  were  mounted  on  the 
wall  back  of  the  winding  lathe.  As  the  pointed  bolts  have  set  nuts  to 
lock  them  after  insertion  in  the  spool  center,  they  act  as  a  brake  to  keep 
the  spool  from  unwinding  too  rapidly,  and  they  can  be  adjusted  to  give 
any  desired  tension. 

Commutator  Slotting  at  Boston. — It  is  the  practice  of  the  Boston 
Elevated  Railway  to  coarse-file  all  commutators  after  the  undercutting 
is  done,  leaving  a  slight  burr  or  fin  on  the  inside  of  the  slot,  which  is  then 
removed  by  hand  with  the  use  of  a  steel  knife.  This  cleans  out  particles 
of  mica.  The  slotting  is  performed  with  an  air  jet  blowing  upon  the  tool. 
The  commutator  is  gone  over  with  a  fine  file  and  sandpaper,  and  the  air 
jet  is  used  continually  while  the  sandpapering  is  in  process.  The  slotting 
tool  is  driven  by  a  spindle  belted  to  the  counter-shafting  above  the  lathe, 
tension  being  provided  by  two  idlers  carried  on  a  spring  rod  held  above 
the  head  of  the  operator.  The  company  has  found  that  the  most  scrupu- 
lous care  needs  to  be  taken  in  doing  undercutting  work,  and  that  hasty 
slotting  is  apt  to  lead  to  more  trouble  than  the  process  saves.  For  this 
reason  no  special  effort  has  been  made  to  perform  undercutting  in  quicker 
time  than  is  the  case  elsewhere.  It  has  been  found  desirable  to  allow 
an  hour  for  cleaning  out  the  undercut  channel  between  the  bars.  If  the 
work  is  hurried  too  much  it  is  likely  to  leave  thin  edges  of  the  mica  next 


210 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


to  the  undercutting,  with  the  result  that  the  brushes  ride  unevenly  on  the 
commutator  and  cause  sparking. 

A  working  drawing  of  the  tool  holder,  which  fits  an  ordinary  lathe,  is 
shown  in  the  accompanying  cut.  The  slotting  tool  is  mounted  on  a  shaft 
driven  by  a  spindle  carried  in  the  bearing  shown  in  the  side  elevation,  and 
maximum  facility  of  adjustment  is  afforded  by  the  horizontal  and  verti- 
cal spindles  illustrated.  The  cutting  tool  can  be  raised  to  a  maximum 
height  of  14  5/8  in.  above  the  ways  of  the  lathe,  and  lowered  to  a  height 


Details  of  commutator  slotter,  Boston. 


of  9  3/8  in.  above  the  bed.  The  maximum  width  of  the  frame  supporting 
the  tool  and  driving  pulley  is  7  in.  The  device  may  be  locked  on  the  car- 
riage of  the  lathe  with  ease. 

A  Commutator  Slotter  (By  H.  P.  Clarke,  Former  Master  Mechanic, 
New  York  Railways  Company). — During  recent  years  the  advantage  of 
slotting  commutators  has  been  so  fully  recognized  that  the  practice  has 
been  generally  adopted  by  the  leading  street  railways  of  the  country. 
With  the  value  of  this  practice  fully  established  a  great  many  different 
devices  have  been  evolved  for  doing  this  work.  A  few  years  ago  the  writer 
caught  the  infection  so  prevalent  at  the  time,  with  the  result  illustrated 
in  the  drawing  on  page  211. 


WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC. 


211 


The  idea  was  to  develop  something  simple  and  efficient,  readily  fitted 
up  in  the  ordinary  repair  shop  at  small  cost.  The  device  shown  consists 
of  a  slide  rest  which  carries  a  small  swinging  frame  and  saw  arbor  fitted 
with  a  circular  saw.  The  frame  is  carried  on  a  taper  pin  which  is  similar 
to  the  apron  of  an  ordinary  planer  or  shaper.  This  arrangement  provides 
a  simple  means  of  adjustment  for  commutators  of  different  diameters  and 
also  allows  the  saw  to  be  thrown  back  out  of  the  way  when  handling  the 


MATERIALS- BRASS  FOR  SWINGING  FRAME 

CAST  IRON  FOR  OTHER  PARTS 


Swinging  frame  for  commutator  slotter. 

armature.  A  handle  is  fastened  to  the  swinging  frame  as  shown,  and  the 
saw  is  drawn  through  the  commutator.  It  was  found  advisable  to  use  a 
coiled  spring  for  holding  the  saw  down  to  the  mica.  This  spring  is  fas- 
tened to  a  staple  in  the  floor  and  hooked  over  the  handle.  The  spring 
can  be  released  and  the  frame  thrown  back  in  an  instant. 

In  the  present  case  this  device  was  fastened  to  a  banding  lathe,  also 
of  the  writer's  design.  This  slotter  has  been  in  constant  use  for  the  past 
three  years,  and  has  proved  very  satisfactory  and  efficient.  An  armature 


212 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


such  as  the  GE-57,  80  and  1000  and  the  Westinghouse  No.  56  can  be 
readily  undercut  in  from  ten  to  fifteen  minutes. 

After  the  slotting  feature  was  perfected  the  machine  was  arranged 
for  revolving  the  armature  at  high  speed,  so  that  the  burrs  thrown  up  by 
the  saw  could  be  removed  and  the  commutator  polished  at  one  operation. 
Two  side  screws  provide  for  the  adjustment  of  the  slide  rest  for  commuta- 
tors that  are  not  in  exact  alignment  with  the  shaft,  but  such  adjustment 
is  seldom  required.  As  the  armature  is  held  very  free  on  the  centers,  the 
saw  follows  the  cut  without  trouble.  This  slotting  rig  can  be  readily 
attached  to  any  lathe  and  has  no  expensive  adjustments  or  heavy  moving 
parts. 

Louisville  Railway  Slotting  Machine. — The  mechanical  department 
of  the  Louisville  Railway  Company  has  designed  and  built  an  inexpensive 
yet  efficient  commutator  slotting  machine  in  its  shops  at  Louisville,  Ky. 


Commutator  slotter,  Louisville. 

It  is  mounted  on  one  of  the  building  columns  and  is  belt-driven  from  a 
line  shaft  which  passes  through  the  armature  shop.  It  consists  of  a  guide 
casting  bolted  to  the  building  column  at  the  top  of  which  a  handwheel 
has  been  applied  to  a  screw  which  raises  or  lowers  the  bracket  supporting 
the  slotting  saw  to  the  proper  working  elevation.  The  slotting  saw  is 
mounted  on  a  cast-iron  bracket  which  is  provided  with  a  rack  and  pinion. 
By  applying  a  crank  to  the  pinion  shaft  the  slotting  saw  is  forced  hori- 
zontally to  the  cutting  position.  A  circular  leather  belt,  which  is  kept 
taut  by  a  pivoted  trolley  wheel  idler,  drives  the  slotting  saw  and  the  whole 
is  controlled  by  a  foot  lever  friction  clutch  mounted  on  the  line  shaft. 


WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC. 


213 


The  armature  support  is  constructed  of  structural  steel  with  cast-iron 
armature  shaft-bearings.  The  support  is  mounted  on  wheels  so  that  the 
armature  may  be  raised  to  the  support  by  the  overhead  traveling  hoist 
and  moved  easily  to  the  slotting  machine.  The  whole  outfit  did  not  cost 
to  exceed  $20  and  a  Westinghouse-69  armature  has  been  slotted  in  twelve 
minutes. 

Improved  Commutator  Slotter. — A  master  mechanic  on  a  large  west- 
ern railway  devised  some  years  ago  a  commutator  slotter  suitable  for  corn- 


Improved  commutator  slotter,  devised  on  a  western  railway. 

mutators  of  any  diameter.  The  construction  details  are  shown  in  an 
accompanying  drawing.  The  working  parts  are  constructed  mainly  of 
wrought  iron,  but  brass  bushings  are  used  for  the  saw  spindle;  the  stand- 
ard or  armature  support  is  constructed  of  two  3/4-in.  wrought-iron  forg- 


214 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


ings  held  together  by  1/2-in.  rods  running  through  3/4-in.  gas  pipes. 
This  gives  the  whole  machine  a  strong  yet  light  appearance  after  the  saw 
has  been  swung  clear  of  the  center.  The  armature  first  is  brought  to  the 
stand  by  a  chain  hoist.  The  wrought-iron  yoke  which  carries  the  centers 
for  the  armature  shaft  and  machine  proper  is  now  swung  into  position  to 
bring  the  saw  in  line  with  the  center  of  the  commutator.  The  centers  are 
then  tightened  on  the  end  of  the  armature  shaft  to  insure  rigidity.  The 
spindle  is  connected  to  a  belted,  grooved  pulley  running  1500  r.p.m.  and 
has  a  3/4-in.  diameter  circular  saw.  The  latter  is  held  in  position  by  a 
nut  at  the  end  of  the  shaft  so  that  worn  saws  may  be  easily  replaced. 
Adjustment  for  different  sizes  of  commutators  is  obtained  through  a  hand 
screw  below  the  centering  frame,  which  raises  or  lowers  the  saw  shaft  to 
the  proper  position  and  depth  of  cut,  as  checked  by  a  thumb  screw.  The 
hand  wheel  at  the  side  is  for  adjusting  the  saw  when  segments  of  the  com- 
mutator are  not  in  line  with  its  shaft  center.  After  this  adjustment  the 
workman  slots  the  commutator  by  pushing  the  lever  toward  the  armature 
and  moving  the  sliding  carriage  which  supports  the  spindle  for  the  saw. 
The  saw  runs  clockwise  facing  the  front  of  the  machine.  With  this 
device  the  commutator  slots  of  a  Westinghouse  38-B  motor,  which  has 
135  commutator  segments,  can  be  cut  3/32  in.  deep  in  from  ten  to  twenty- 
five  minutes,  according  to  the  hardness  of  the  mica.  A  hose  conveys 
compressed  air  to  keep  the  commutator  clean  and  free  from  mica  dust. 


Wrench  for  commutator  jam  nuts,  Chicago. 

Wrench  for  Commutator  Nuts. — An  accompanying  sketch  exhibits 
the  detail  dimensions  of  a  special  wrench  used  by  the  Chicago  City  Rail- 
ways for  screwing  up  commutator  jam  nuts.  With  this  wrench,  which  is 
simply-  a  block  of  iron  properly  bored  and  fitted  with  two  protruding 
pins,  it  is  possible  with  the  assistance  of  a  long  bar  to  exert  an  enormous 
pressure  on  the  commutator  jam  nut. 

Wheel  Grinding  at  Syracuse. — A  simple  method  of  grinding  flat 
wheels  in  position  is  used  at  the  Syracuse  shops,  New  York  State  Rail- 
ways. One  end  of  the  car  is  jacked  up  so  that  while  one  set  of  wheels  is 


WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC.  215 

blocked  the  other  pair  of  wheels  is  lifted  freely  to  be  revolved  by  one 
motor.  The  flatted  wheel  is  revolved  against  an  emery  block  which  is 
set  under  the  wheel.  Flats  are  also  removed  by  spinning  the  wheel 
against  emery  brake  shoes.  The  cooling  water  used  during  the  grinding 
process  is  furnished  through  a  pipe  line  from  the  pit. 

Boring  Wheels  with  a  Lathe. — A  novel  method  of  boring  wheels  in  an 
ordinary  engine  lathe  is  illustrated  in  the  accompanying  sketch.  The 
scheme  was  developed  by  George  F.  Poor,  master  mechanic  of  the  Ashe- 
ville  (N.  C.)  Electric  Company,  and  has  proved  thoroughly  successful. 
P  is  the  ordinary  tool  post  of  the  lathe  and  H  the  regular  compound  head 
rest.  An  extension  tool  post  Pi,  9  in.  high,  is  used  to  raise  the  ordinary 
tool  post  above  its  usual  position.  This  extension  piece  is  5  1/4  in.  wide 
over  all  and  3  in.  wide  inside  the  frame.  It  is  attached  to  the  compound 
head  rest  by  the  5/8-in.  bolt,  nut  and  plate  shown. 


Boring  wheels  with  a  lathe. 

In  place  of  the  usual  tool  a  bar  A,  6  in.  long,  is  clamped  into  the  tool 
post  P,  and  at  the  end  of  this  bar  a  clamp  C  is  attached  by  a  set  screw 
fastening.  This  clamp  is  secured  around  a  sleeve  S  with  a  bolt-lock  at 
B,  so  that  S,  C  and  A  are  one  rigid  member.  M  is  a  stationary  mandrel 
fitting  at  one  end  into  the  head  center  of  the  lathe  and  being  held  rigidly 
against  the  tail  center  of  two  dogs  DD,  which  are  clamped  together  to 
prevent  the  turning  of  the  mandrel,  the  latter  acting  simply  as  a  guide 
for  the  sleeve  S.  The  sleeve  S  is  2  3/4  in.  outside  diameter,  the  mandrel 
M  having  a  sliding  fit  of  1  5/8  in.  diameter.  Attached  to  the  mandrel 
near  its  head  is  a  cutting  tool  T  of  high-speed  steel,  which  is  secured  in  a 
hole  in  the  mandrel  by  a  3/8-in.  set  screw.  The  lathe  is  also  provided  with 
a  head  stock  extension  9  in.  high  and  a  tail  stock  extension  of  the  same 
dimension,  and  the  lathe  is  driven  by  a  short  belt  from  the  usual  overhead 
pulleys. 

In  operation  the  wheel  is  placed  in  the  lathe  by  being  attached  to  a 
35-in.  face  plate  W  in  which  are  14  3/4-in.  holes  drilled  on  a  circumfer- 
ence. The  face  plate  fits  the  lathe  spindle  and  the  wheel  is  attached  to 

15 


216 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


the  face  plate  by  the  clamps.  The  tool  T  is  then  adjusted  in  the  sleeve, 
the  latter  being  rigidly  fastened  to  the  tool  post.  When  the  latter  is 
started  the  wheel  revolves  with  the  face  plate,  and  the  tool  post,  bar 
clamp  C,  sleeve  S  and  cutting  tool  T  feed  along  the  lathe  parallel  to  the 
mandrel  or  line  between  centers.  The  adjustment  thus  permits  the  tool 
T  to  advance  along  the  bore  of  the  hub  inside,  as  the  latter  revolves,  and 
all  lost  motion  is  prevented  by  the  fit  of  the  sleeve  on  the  mandrel  and  the 
fastening  of  the  latter  to  the  tail  stock  center.  In  this  way  the  lathe  (an 
18-in.  machine)  is  given  a  36-in.  swing  and  the  travel  of  the  cutting  tool  T 
can  reach  a  maximum  of  6  in.  parallel  to  the  center  line  of  the  lathe.  A 
wheel  can  be  bored  out  in  about  an  hour  with  this  device  and  the  cost  of 
fitting  it  up  was  considerably  less  than  $200.  Aside  from  the  saving  in  the 
cost  of  a  boring  mill  there  is  a  saving  in  the  cost  of  having  the  job  done  out- 
side and  in  the  time  required. 


NCTE:    ONE  END, ON  EACH  LENGTH   OF 
THIS  ROLL  TO  BE  LARGE  ENOUGH 
TO  SLIP  OVER  END  OF  NEXT  ROLL 
FOR  LAP  ON  SHELVING.  \ 
THIS  LINE  OF  HOLES  ARE  IN  FRONT  OF  SHELF  \ 


v 


NE  OF  HOLES  ARE   IN   BACK  OF  SHELF 


END  VIEW  OF  SHELF '^      "_    7"j 

~ 


FRONT  VIEW  OF  SHELF 


CUTTING  PLAN  FOR  PARTITION 


VIEW  OF  BRACKET 

SKETCH  SHOWS  TWO 
FORMS  OF  BRACKET  CONSTRUCTION. 

NOTE:    BRACKET  N0.2  is  USED  FOR  ALL  SHELVES. 


Details  of  storeroom  shelves,  Syracuse. 

Storeroom  Shelves  at  Syracuse. — The  design  of  the  storage  bins  and 
shelves  at  the  Syracuse  shops  of  the  New  York  State  Railways  merits 
special  attention  because  of  the  simple  means  provided  to  change  at  will 
the  size  of  individual  bins  and  the  spacing  between  the  shelves  in  accord- 
ance with  changes  in  the  character  of  materials  handled.  These  bins  are 
of  galvanized  iron  and  are  built  up  as  follows:  Carrying  channels  are 
bolted  vertically  to  the  wall  at  26-in.  centers  and  are  perforated  for  the 


WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC. 


217 


insertion  of  the  shelf  brackets  at  any  desirable  intervals.  The  shelving 
consists  of  horizontal  sections  12  ft.  long  which  have  a  series  of  holes  4  in. 
apart  so  that  the  vertical  partitions  can  be  riveted  to  the  shelf  at  intervals 
of  4  in.  or  multiples  thereof.  The  general  construction  details  of  the  bins 
and  brackets  are  presented  in  an  accompanying  drawing  which  also  shows 


l         •     •    •     •' 


II  1 1  il  I  III 


r 


__HOOK   &    EYE    3°TT\,V 
INGE       1$  VA' 


\ 

k-- 


32' 


POSITION  OF  FRAME    IN   USE 


SIDE   ELEVATION 

Blueprint  drying  frame. 

how  the  front  edge  of  the  shelving  is  rolled  up  for  lapping  over  the  next 
12  ft.  to  secure  an  unbroken  construction.  Each  bin  carries  a  holder  with 
a  printed  card  which  gives  the  bin  number,  the  name  of  the  article  and 
the  catalogue  number. 

A  Handy  Blueprint  Frame. — The  accompanying  drawing  illustrates 
a  blueprint  drying  frame  used  in  the  offices  of  the  Boston  Elevated 


218 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


Railway  Company  in  a  pent  house  on  the  roof  of  the  Milk  Street  head- 
quarters. It  was  designed  by  H.  C.  Hartwell,  of  the  elevated  and  subway 
engineering  construction  department,  and  was  built  to  prevent  warping 
when  wet  prints  are  laid  upon  it  over  a  steam  radiator  on  which  the  latter 
are  dried  when  haste  is  required.  The  frame  is  of  white  pine,  halved  and 
screwed  at  intersections,  and  is  designed  to  fold  up  against  the  wall  when 
not  in  use.  The  openings  in  the  lattice  work  enable  the  heat  to  be  ap- 
plied efficiently  to  the  damp  prints,  and  the  cost  of  the  frame  is  trifling. 
A  Gas  Burner  for  Expanding  Tires. — The  accompanying  illustration 
shows  a  simple  and  inexpensive  gas  burner  for  heating  tires  which  has 
been  designed  and  built  at  the  shops  of  the  Aurora,  Elgin  &  Chicago 
Railroad  Company  at  Wheaton,  111.  A  gasolene  burner  was  formerly 
used  for  this  purpose,  but  it  was  expensive  to  operate  and  dangerous  as 
well.  A  high-proof  gasolene  was  required  and  it  was  found  to  be  impos- 
sible to  store  it  even  in  tightly  closed  metal  casks  without  a  loss  from 
evaporation  greater  than  the  amount  actually  burned  during  the  compara- 
tively infrequent  use  of  the  burner.  Some  time  was  necessary  to  start 


Gas  burner  for  expanding  tires. 

the  burner  and  it  frequently  flooded  so  that  the  fire  had  to  be  put  out  and 
the  tire  allowed  to  cool  down  before  starting  up  again.  The  burner 
shown  was  built  and,  after  several  experiments  were  made  to  determine 
the  proper  size  and  location  of  the  air  nozzle,  it  was  made  to  work  with 
complete  success  at  the  surprisingly  low  consumption  of  4  cu.  ft.  of  gas 
per  minute.  It  requires  at  the  most  twenty-five  minutes  to  expand  a  tire 
sufficiently  to  remove  it  from  the  center,  and  with  illuminating  gas  at 
$1  per  1000  cu.  ft.,  the  cost  is  only  10  cents.  Tires  have  been  removed 
in  fifteen  minutes  at  a  cost  of  6  cents. 

The  burner  is  made  of  1-in.  iron  pipe  with  1-in.  pipe  connections  for 
gas  and  1/4-in.  pipe  connections  for  air.  The  air  and  gas  pipes  are  at- 
tached by  unions  to  mains  run  under  the  floor.  The  risers  divide  at  the 
top  and  join  the  two  halves  of  the  burner  which  are  made  separate  and 
overlap  at  their  ends.  The  air  pipes  have  small  thumb  cocks  inserted 
in  them  to  regulate  the  intensity  of  the  blast,  but  the  gas  is  turned  into 
the  burner  at  the  full  service  pressure  of  3  oz.  The  air  pipes  are  led  into 
the  vertical  legs  of  the  gas-pipe  connections  through  a  reducing  T,  which 
is  used  instead  of  an  ordinary  elbow  at  the  upper  bend.  They  are 


WELDING  METHODS,  SHOP  TOOLS,  STORAGE,  ETC.  219 

carried  down  inside  of  the  vertical  legs  and  are  bent  outward  at  the  bottom 
to  discharge  the  air  directly  into  the  burner  pipe.  The  burners  have  3/16- 
in.  holes  drilled  in  them  spaced  1/2  in.  apart.  One  of  these  burners  with 
holes  on  the  inside  is  used  for  removing  tires,  and  an  exactly  similar 
burner  of  smaller  diameter  and  with  holes  on  the  side  is  used  for  expand- 
ing tires  before  shrinking  them  on  centers.  The  cost  is  trifling  and  the 
burners  can  be  made  in  any  shop  equipped  with  pipe-fitting  tools. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES  FOR  SHOPMEN 

Within  the  past  five  years,  quite  a  number  of  electric  railways  have 
done  much  to  insure  correct  and  most  economical  work  in  car  maintenance 
by  furnishing  the  shopmen  with  instruction  prints.  These  prints  show 
the  best  methods  of  determining  brush  setting  and  motor  lead  location, 
of  regulating  grid  resistances,  of  making  proper  allowances  for  controller 
and  motor  wiring,  of  setting  heater  steps,  of  wiring  for  lamps,  push-but- 
tons, compressors,  etc.  Among  the  companies  which  have  issued  prints 
of  this  kind  are  the  United  Railways  &  Electric  Company  of  Baltimore, 
the  Brooklyn  Rapid  Transit  System,  the  Philadelphia  Rapid  Transit 
Company  and  the  Public  Service  Railway,  Newark,  N.  J.  Some  of  the 
prints,  of  course,  apply  only  to  the  conditions  peculiar  to  a  given  property, 
but  even  these  will  be  found  of  value  in  preparing  other  prints  to  serve 
the  same  purpose.  For  the  convenience  of  the  user,  the  instruction  prints 
following  have  been  placed  in  the  order  of  subject  regardless  of  their  origin. 
The  original  prints  are  made  up  in  handy  booklets,  usually  6  in.  X3§  in. 
in  size.  Through  the  courtesy  of  the  manufacturers,  several  prints 
covering  recent  equipment  have  been  added.  Some  tabulated  matter  on 
resistances,  leads,  etc.,  has  also  been  included. 


221 


222 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


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SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


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224 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


FIGS.   11,  12  AND  13. — Motor  lead  locations,  West.  49,  GE-90  and  West.  101-D  motor 

(Baltimore). 
O v  / v  / O 


Note. — For  apparently  the  same  connections,  Westinghouse  and  General  Electric 
armatures  (except  Nos.  57  and  1000)  run  in  opposite  directions. 

In  all  cases,  the  terminal  of  the  near  brush  holder  issues  from  the  motor  through 
the  bushing  nearest  to  it. 

FIG.   14. — Opposite  rotation  for  same  connections  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


ALL  G.  E.  MOTORS 


—  GROUND 
_NEAR 

—  FAR 
-NEAR 
-FAR 


(a) 


WEST.  68 


-  GROUND 

-  BOTTOM 

TOP 
NEAR 
FAR 


I] 


(d) 


LEADS  ON  

SUPPORT  SIDE  AXLE  SIDE 


WEST.   56 


LEADS  ON 


SUPPORT  SIDE 


AXLE  SIDE 


FIG.  15. — Order  of  bringing  motor  leads  through  spreader  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


u 


.....  IHI" 


AXLE  No.l 


AXLE  No. 2     AXLE  No.  3 


AXLE  No.  4 


FIG.  16. — Mounting  of  two  motors  on  two  double  trucks  and  corresponding  to  con- 
nections of  Figs.  35  and  36;  motor  terminals  brought  out  on  axle  side  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


225 


^ ( 


AXLE  No.  4 


AXLE  No.  3 


AXLE  No.  2 


AXLE  No.l 


FIG.   17. — Mounting  of  two  motors  on  two  double  trucks  and  corresponding  to  con- 
nections of  Figs.  35  and  36;  motor  terminals  brought  out  on  axle  side  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


ily—  v 

>  BOLSTER 
X 

n  AXLE  NO.  3  OR  PONY  AXLE  ^ 

NOTE:  - 

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FIG.  18. — Mounting  of  two  motors  on  two  double  trucks  and  corresponding  to 
connections  of  Figs.  37  and  38;  motor  terminals  brought  out  on  suspension  side 
(P.  S.  Ry.). 


AXLE  No.l 


AXLE  No.  2 


I 


19 


AXLE  No.  3 


AXLE  No.  4 


FIG.   19. — Mounting  of  two  motors  on  two  double  trucks  and  corresponding  to 
connections  of   Figs.  37  and  38;    motor  terminals  brought  out  on  suspension  side 

(P.  S.  Ry.). 


226 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


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ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


Notes. — Face  commutator  end  when  look- 
ing at  armature  connections.     Face  bushings 
*-~ — -V  DC  when  considering  them.     Far  armature  out 

•^•  —  •^J"-—      ^J  FAR  ARMATURE 

NEAR  ARMATURE  of  top  right-hand  hole.  Near  armature  out 
Of  top  left-hand  hole.  Top  field  out  of  third 
hole.  Bottom  field  out  of  bottom  hole. 


FIG.  28.— Order  of  bringing  out  motor  terminals  of  GE-57,  67,  80-C,  52,  58,  1000 
and  800  motors,  on  the  right-hand  side,  when  armature  terminal  bushings  are  horizon- 
tal (P.  S.  Ry.). 


Notes. — Face    commutator    end    when    looking  at 
AR  armature  connections.     Face  bushings  when  consider- 
ing them.     Far  armature  out  of  top  hole.     Near  arma- 
ture out  of  second  hole.     Top  field  out  of  third  hole. 
Bottom  field  out  of  bottom  hole. 


FIG.  29.— Order  of  bringing  out  motor  terminals  of  GE-57,  67,  52,  58,  80-C,  1000 
and  800  motors,  on  the  left-hand  side,  when  armature  terminal  bushings  are  vertical 
(P.  S.  Ry.). 


BOTTOM  O— 


Notes. — Face  commutator  end  when  looking  at 
FAR  armature  connections.     Face  bushings  when  consider- 
ing them.     Far  armature  out  of  left-hand  hole.     Near 
armature  out  of  right-hand  hole.     Top  field  out  of 
third  hole.     Bottom  field  out  of  bottom  hole. 


FIG.  30. — Order  of  bringing  out  motor  terminals  of  GE-57,  67,  80-C,  58,  52,  1000 
and  800  motors,  on  the  left-hand  side,  when  armature  terminal  bushings  are  horizontal 
(P.  S.  Ry.). 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


229 


CONNECTION  OF 
MOTORS  No.2  &  4 


Notes. — On  all  motor  fields,  run  straight.  On  motors  1  and  3,  armatures  run 
straight.  On  motors  2  and  4,  armatures  crossed 'bet  ween  spreader  and  junction  boxes. 
Where  no  spreader  is  used,  Nos.  2  and  4  armatures  are  crossed  between  motor  and 
junction  box.  Ground  wires  on  motors  2  and  4  only. 

FIG.  31. — Connections  for  four  Westinghouse  68  motors  hung  outside  of  axle  on 
double-truck  car  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


MOTOR  No.  1 


DIRECTION    OF  CAR    MOTION 


Notes. — No.  1  connects  same  as  No.  2  on  a  four-motor  car.  No.  2  connects  same 
as  No.  1  on  a  four-motor  car.  No.  2.  armature  and  fields  straight;  No.  1  armature 
crossed. 

FIG.  32. — Connections  for  two  Westinghouse  68  motors  on  single- truck  car  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


MOTORS 

No.l  AND  3 


MOTORS 

No.2  AND  4 


DIRECTION   OF   CAR   MOTION 


Notes. — Armature  wires  on  motors  Nos.  1  and  3  crossed  between  junction  box 
and  spreader.     All  other  motor  wires  straight. 

FIG.  33. — Connections  of  four  GE  motors  (except  Nos.  57  and  1000)  hung  outside  of 
axles  on  two  double  trucks.     Terminals  on  axle  side  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


230 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


MOTOR  No.  2 


MOTOR  No.l 


SPREADERS   USED  AS  JUNCTION    BOXES 
DIRECTION   OF  CAR   MOTION 


Notes. — Facing  commutator  end,  motor  terminals  come  out  on  left  or  suspension 
side  of  motors.     Facing  spreader,  single  A  to  the  right. 

FIG.  34. — Connections  of  two  GE  motors  (except  Nos.  57  and  1000)  on  a  single  truck 

(P.  S.  Ry.). 


MOTOR    No.l 


JUNCTION    BOXES 


MOTOR   No, 2 


DIRECTION   OF   CAR   MOTION 


Notes. — No.  1  armatures  crossed  between  motor  or  spreader  and  junction  box. 
All  other  motor  wires  run  straight. 
FIG.  35. — Connections  of  two   GE  motors   (except  Nos.   57  and  1000)  on  double 

trucks.     Mounted  as  in  Fig.  18,  motor  terminals  out  on  axle  side  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


MOTOR    No.l 


JUNCTION    BOXES 


DIRECTION    OF   CAR   MOTION 


Notes. — No.  2  armatures  crossed  between  motor  or  spreader  and  junction  box. 
All  other  motor  wires  run  straight. 

FIG.  36. — Connections  of  two  Westinghouse  68  motors  on  two  double  trucks  mounted 
as  in  Fig.  18,  motor  terminals  out  on  axle  side  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND   TABLES 


231 


MOTOR    No.l 


MOTOR    No.  2 


DIRECTION    OF   CAR    MOTION 


Notes. — No.  1  armatures  crossed  between  motor  or  spreader  and  junction  box. 
All  other  motor  wires  run  straight. 

FIG.  37. — Connections  of  two  GE  motors  (except  Nos.  57  and  1000)  mounted 
on  double  trucks  as  in  Figs.  18  and  19.  Motor  terminals  out  on  suspension  side 
(P.  S.  Ry.). 


MOTOR    No.  2 


JUNCTION    BOXES 


DIRECTION   OF  CAR  MOTION 


MOTOR    No.l 


Notes. — No.  1  armatures  crossed  between  motor  or  spreader  and  junction  box. 
All  other  motor  wires  run  straight. 

FIG.  38. — Connections  of  two  Westinghouse  68  motors,  mounted  on  double  trucks 
as  in  Figs.  18  and  19.     Junction  box  on  axle  side  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


MOTORS   No.  1  &3 


-JUNCTION    BOX 


JUNCTION    BOX 


\__tx 

TOP  C/MOTORS    No.  2  &  4 


DIRECTION   OF  CAR  MOTION 


Notes. — Terminals  out  on  suspension  side.     Armature  wires  of  motors  2  and  4 
crossed.     All  other  motor  wires  run  straight. 

FIG.  39.— Connections  of  four  GE-1000  on  57  motors  (P.  S.  Ry.). 
16 


232 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


JUNCTION    BOXES 


DIRECTION   OF  CAR   MOTION 


MOTORS    No.  2  &  4 


Notes. — Terminals  out  on  axle  side  armature  wires  of  motors  2  and  4  crossed.     All 
other  motor  wires  run  straight. 

FIG.  40. — Connections  of  four  GE-1000  or  57  motors  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


fr- 


FIG.  41. — Westinghouse  68  field  connections  outside  jumper  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


233 


LEAD 
NO. 

TYPE  OF 
MOTOR 

LENGTH 
OF  LEAD 

SIZE  OF 

WIRE 

I 

West.  101 
G.E.     80 

O'-ll" 

T.  D.    5-2 

2 

West.    68 

0'-  18" 

i  i 

3 

West.    68 

0'-22" 

» 

4 

G.E.     80 

3'-0" 

i> 

5 

G.  E.     80 

3'  -10" 

11 

6 

West.    68 

4'  -10" 

1  7 

7 

West.  101 

5-5" 

i  i 

8 

West.    68 

5'-  10" 

11 

9 

West.  101 

6'-  9" 

tt 

10 

West.    81 
G.E.     57 

0'-18" 

T.  D.    3-2 

11 

West.    81 
West.    93 

0-  20" 

11 

12 

West.    81 
G.E.     57 

2-2" 

11 

13 

West.    93 

3'-  8" 

11 

14 

West.    93 

4'-2" 

11 

15 

West.    81 
G.E.     57 

5-10" 

11 

16 

West.    81 
West.    93 

r-  2  " 

n 

17 

G.E.      64 
G.E.      64 

0'-18" 

T.  D.   1-2 

18 

G.E.      64 

3'-  3" 

11 

19 

G.E.      64 

4'-7" 

11 

FIG.  42. — Field  lead  lengths  (B.  R.  T.).     Numbers  in  first  column  refer  to  the 
numbered  leads  on  following  diagrams.     For  "  T.  D."  wires  see  table  below. 


B.  R.  T.  RUBBER  INSULATED  WIRES  AND  CABLES 


T.  D.  1-2  |  T.  D.  3-2  |  T.  D.  5-2 


Approximate  size  B.  &  S.                   

1 

3 

5 

Number  of  wires 

210 

259 

133 

Size  wire  B   &  S 

24 

27 

26 

Number  of  strands  
Wires  per  strand 

30 

7 

37 

7 

19 

7 

Area  in  circular  mils  
Rubber  wall  

84,840 
ft 

52,188 
& 

33,795 

-h 

Diameter  rubbers  —  32nds  
Number  of  braids  

18* 
3 

14* 
3 

12 
3 

Diameter  over  braids  —  32nds  
Voltage  test                                                                  .  . 

24* 
6,000 

20 
5,000 

18 
3,000 

Meeohms  oer  mile  .  . 

1,200 

1,250 

1,150 

234 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


COMM.BARS   BETWEEN    CENTER  LINES  OF   BRUSHES.  29)4     COMM..DARS   BETWEEN    CENTER  LINES  OF   BRUSHES. 


FIGS.  43  AND  44. — Diagrams  of  field  leads  and  spacing  of  brushes,  Westinghouse 

and  81  motors  (B.  R.  T.). 


38%  COMM.BARS  BETWEEN  CENTER  LINES  OF  BRUSHES 


27%  COMM.BARS  BETWEEN  CENTER  LINES  OF  BRUSHES 


FIGS.  45  AND  46. — Diagrams  of  field  leads  and  spacing  of  brushes,  Westinghouse  93 

and  101  motors  (B.  R.  T.). 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


235 


48%    COMM.BARS   BETWEEN    CENTER   LINES  OF   BRUSHES.  41 H    COMM.BARS   BETWEEN    CENTER   LINES  OF   BRUSHES. 


FIGS.  47  AND  48. — Diagrams  of  field  leads  and  brush  spacings  of  Westinghouse  300 
and  50-B,  E  and  L  motors  (B.  R.  T.). 


24%    COMM.BARS   BETWEEN    CENTER   LINES  OF   BRUSHES.  2834     COMM.BARS   BETWEEN    CENTER   LINES  OF  .BRUSHES. 


FIGS.  49  AND  50. — Diagrams  of  field  leads  and  spacing  of  brushes,  GE-57  and  64 

motors  (B.  R.  T.). 


236 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


27.?iCOMM.BARS  BETWEEN  CENTER  LINES  OF  BRUSHES 

FIG.  51. — Diagram  of  field  leads  and  brush  spacing,  GE-80.     Motor  (B.  R.  T.). 


Position  of  Leads 


FIG.  52. — General  Electric  234  motor,  showing  direction  of  rotation,  throw  of  leads, 
three-turn  armature,  and  method  of  bringing  out  leads. 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION   PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


237 


OAA    Position  of  Leads 
O  A    I  Commutator  End 


Leads  on  Suspension  Side 


FIG.  53. — General  Electric  200-A  motor,  showing  direction  of  rotation,  throw  of  leads, 
four-turn  armature  and  method  of  bringing  out  leads. 


OAA 

OA  \  Position  of  Leads 
Commutator  End 


A  A 


Leads  on  Suspension  Side 


FF 


^  Axle 


FIG.  54. — General  Electric  201-G  motor,  showing  direction  of  rotation,  throw  of  leads, 
three-turn  armature  and  method  of  bringing  out  leads. 


238 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


Leads  on  Axle  Side 


Position  of  Leads 
Commutator  End 


AA 


CAA 
OA 
OFF 
OF 


Axle 


FIG.  55. — General  Electric  203-C  and  L  motor,  showing  direction  of  rotation,  throw 
of  leads,  three-turn  armature  and  method  of  bringing  out  leads. 


FIG.  56. — General  Electric  216  motor,  showing  direction  of  rotation,  throw  of  leads, 
three-turn  armature  and  method  of  bringing  out  leads. 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


239 


FIG.  57.— MOTOR  RESISTANCES 


Resistance  in  ohms  at  25 

°C. 

Type 

Armature 

Field 

Total 

Westinghouse  68  

0.230 

0.275 

0.505 

Westinghouse  81 

0  124 

0  147 

0.271 

Westinghouse  93 

0  140 

0.158 

0.298 

Westinghouse  93-A2  
Westinghouse  101  
Westinghouse  50-B  
Westinghouse  50-E  
Westinghouse  50-L  
Westinghouse  300  

0.140 
0.242 
0.0374 
0.0374 
0.0374 
0.035 

0.158 
0.247 
0.034 
0.034 
0.034 
Main    0.173 

0.298 
0.489 
0.0714 
0.0714 
0.0714 
0.0657 

General  Electric  64. 

0  182 

Aux.     0.0134 
0  222 

0.404 

General  Electric  80  
General  Electric  800  

0.296 
0.2397 

0.278 
0.6248 

0.574 
0.8645 

FIG.  58.— WESTINGHOUSE  GRID 


RESISTORS  FOR  STANDARD  TWO  MOTOR  CAR 
EQUIPMENTS 


Motors 

Weight 
of  car 
in  tons 
loaded 

It 

Type  of 
controller 

Resistor  —  8"  —  3  point  type 

Type 

Volt- 
age 

H.p. 

Gear 
ratio 

Style 
No. 

Frames 

Grids 
per 
frame 

Net 
wt. 

00 

S 

M 
O 

12-  A 

500 

25 

14:68 

8.5-10.0 

33" 

K-10-A,  H. 

58871-A 

2 

18 

180 

5.20 

12-  A 

500 

30 

14:68 

8.0-  9.5 

33" 

K-10-A,  H. 

58871-A 

2 

18 

180 

5.20 

9  2-  A 

500 

35 

15:69 

11.0-12.5 

33" 

K-10-A,  H. 

55137 

2 

18 

180 

4.56 

92-A 

500 

35 

18:66 

10.0-11.5 

33" 

K-10-A,  H. 

55137 

2 

18 

180 

4.56 

101-B2 

500 

40 

15:69 

13.0-15.0 

33" 

K-10-A,  H,  or 

55137 

2 

18 

180 

4.56 

K-ll-A,H,K-36-B,C. 

101-B2 

500 

40 

18:66 

11.0-13.0 

33" 

K-10-A,  H,  or 

55137 

2 

18 

180 

4.56 

K-ll-A.H.K-36-B.C. 

307 

500 

40 

14:70 

14.0-16.0 

33" 

K-36-B,  C,  or 

55137 

2 

18 

180 

4.56 

K-11-A.H-K-27-A. 

307 

500 

40 

15:69 

13.0-15.0 

33" 

K-36-B,  C,  or 

55137 

2 

18 

180 

4.56 

K-ll-A,  H-K-27-A. 

306 

500 

50 

14:70 

14.0-16.0 

33" 

K-36-B,  C,  or 

55139 

2 

18 

180 

3.80 

K-ll-A,  H-K-27-A. 

306 

500 

50 

15:69 

13.0-15.0 

33" 

K-36-B,  C,  or 

55139 

2 

18 

180 

3.80 

K-ll-A,  H-K-27-A. 

101-D2 

500 

50 

15:69 

14.0-16.0 

33" 

K-ll-A,  H,  or 

55139 

2 

18 

180 

3.80 

K-36-B,  C-K-27-A. 

101-Dz 

500 

50 

18:66 

14.0-16.0 

33" 

K-ll-A,  H,  or 

55143 

2 

25 

250 

3.13 

K-36-B,  C-K-27-A. 

93-A2 

500 

60 

16:71 

20.0-23.0 

33" 

K-ll-A,  H,  or 

55143 

2 

25 

250 

3.13 

K-36-B,  C-K-27-A. 

93-A2 

500 

60 

19:68 

1  .  70-19  .  0 

33" 

K-ll-A,  H,  or 

55143 

2 

25 

250 

3.13 

K-36-B,  C-K-27-A. 

305 

500 

60 

16:71 

20.0-23.0 

33" 

K-35-G,  H,  or 

108372 

1 

14 

350 

3.18 

K-40-A,  K-43-A,  B. 

2 

28 

305 

500 

60 

18:69 

19.0-22.0 

33" 

K-35-G,  H,  or 

108478 

1 

15 

385 

2.95 

K-40-A,  K-43-A,  B. 

2 

31 

310 

600 

75 

15:69 

23.0-26.0 

33" 

K-36-B,  C,  or 

138767 

3 

22 

330 

3.60 

K-ll-A,  K-27-A. 

240 


ELECTRIC  CAR   MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


FIG.  58.— WESTINGHOUSE    GRID  RESISTORS  FOR  STANDARD  TWO  MOTOR  CAR 
EQUIPMENTS  —Continued 


Motors 

Weight 
of  car 
in  tons 
loaded 

it 

Type  of 
controller 

Resistor  —  8"  —  3  point  type 

Type 

Volt- 
age 

H.p. 

Gear 
ratio 

Style 
No. 

Frames 

Grids 
per 
frame 

Net 
wt. 

J- 

112-B 

500 

75 

16:73 

22.0-25.0 

33" 

K-6-A,  H,  or 

55151 

3 

25 

375 

2.64 

K-29-A. 

112-B 

500 

75 

16:73 

22.0-25.0 

33" 

K-28-B,  F.                         83372     |   3 

25 

375 

2.60 

112-B 

500 

75 

16:73 

21.0-24.0 

33" 

K-35-G,  H,  or                 108478        1 

15 

385 

2.95 

K-40-A,  K-43-A,  B. 

2 

31 

304 

500 

75 

16:71 

21.0-24.0 

33" 

K-35-G,  H,  or 

108478 

1 

15 

385 

2.95 

K-40-A,  K-43-A,  B. 

2 

31 

304 

600 

90 

18:69 

21.0-24.0 

33" 

K-35-G,  H,  or 

108478 

1 

15 

385 

2.95 

K-40-A,  K-43-A,  B. 

2 

31 

121-A 

550 

90 

17:58 

25.0-28.0 

33" 

K-35-G,  H,  or                 139924 

1 

10 

390 

2.08 

K-40-A,  K-43-A,  B. 

2 

34 

121-A 

550 

90 

20:55 

23.0-26.0 

33" 

K-35-G,  H,  or                j  139924 

1 

10 

390 

2.08 

K-40  A,  K-43-A,  B. 

2 

34 

303-A 

550 

100 

16:61 

27.0-30.0 

33" 

K-35-G,  H,  or 

136263 

1 

20 

400 

1.95 

303-A 

550 

100 

20:57 

25.0-28.0 

33" 

K-40-A,  K-43  A,  B. 
K-35-G,  H,  or                j  136263 

2 
1 

30 
20 

400 

1.95 

K-40-A,  K-43-A,  B. 

2 

30 

303-A 

600 

115  I  24:53 

24.0-27.0 

33" 

K-35-G,  H,  or 

136263 

1 

20 

400 

1.95 

i 

K-40-A,  K-43-A,  B. 

2 

30 

NOTE. — Where  two  sub-letters  in  any  controller  type  designation  are  listed,  the  second  indicates 
the  controller  which  operates  the  auxiliary  contactor. 

In  selecting  resistors  for  gear  ratios  not  listed,  note  that  with  a  given  resistance,  a  lower  speed 
gear  ratio  is  accompanied  by  a  corresponding  increase  in  car  weight  and  vice  versa. 


FIG.  59.— WESTINGHOUSE  GRID  RESISTORS  FOR  STANDARD  FOUR  MOTOR  CAR 

EQUIPMENTS. 


Motors 

Weight 
of  car 
in  tons 
loaded 

1  - 
$* 

Type  of 
controller 

Resistors  —  8"  —  3  point  type 

Type 

Volt- 
age 

H.p. 

Gear 
ratio 

Style 
No. 

J 

Grids 
yer 
frame 

Net 
wt. 

! 

o 

12-A 

500 

25 

14:68  13.5-15.0 

33" 

K-12-A,  D. 

55139 

2 

18 

180 

3.80 

12-A 

500 

30 

14:68 

14.0-16.0 

33" 

K-12-A,  D. 

55143 

2 

25 

250 

3.13 

92-A 

500 

35 

15:6920.0-23.0 

33" 

K-28-B,  F. 

83372 

3 

25 

375 

2.60 

92-A 

500 

35 

18:66  17.0-20.0 

33" 

K-28-B,  F. 

83372 

3 

25 

375 

2.60 

101-B2 

500 

40 

15:69 

23.0-26.0 

33" 

K-28-B,  F. 

83372 

3 

25 

375 

2.60 

101-B2 

500 

40 

18:66 

20.0-23.0 

33" 

K-28-B,  F. 

83372 

3 

25 

375 

2.60 

101-B2 

500 

40 

18:66 

20.0-23.0 

33" 

K-6-A,  H,  or 

55151 

3 

25 

375 

2.64 

K-29-A. 

307 

500 

40 

15:69 

20.0-23.0 

33" 

K-35-G,  H,  or 

108478 

1 

15 

385 

2.95 

K-40-A. 

2 

31 

307 

500 

40 

18:66 

18.0-21.0 

33" 

K-35-G,  H,  or 

108478 

1 

15 

385 

2.95 

K-40-A. 

2 

31 

306 

500 

50 

15:69 

27.0-30.0 

33" 

K-35-G,  H,  or 

139924 

1 

10 

390 

2.08 

K-40-A. 

2 

34 

306 

500 

50 

18:66 

25.0-28.0 

33" 

K-35-G,  H,  or 

139924 

1 

10 

390 

2.08 

K-40-A. 

2 

34 

101-D2 

500 

50 

18:66 

24.0-27.0 

33" 

K-35-G,  H,  or 

139924 

1 

10 

390 

2.08 

K-40-A. 

2 

34 

SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


241 


FIG.   59.— WESTINGHOUSE    GRID    RESISTORS    FOR    STANDARD    FOUR    MOTOR    CAR 

EQUIPMENTS.— Continued 


Motors 

Weight 
of  car 
in  tons 
loaded 

1    4 

e* 

Type  of 
controller 

Resistor  —  8"  —  3  point  type 

Type 

Volt- 
age 

H.p. 

Gear 
ratio 

Style 
No. 

Frames 

Grids 
per 
frame 

Net 
wt. 

1 

101-D2 

500 

50 

22:62 

23.0-26.0 

33" 

K-35-G,  H,  or 

136263 

1 

20 

400 

1.95 

K-40-A. 

2 

30 

101-D2 

500 

50 

15:69 

22.0-25.0 

33" 

K-14-A,  E. 

55151 

3 

25 

375 

2.64 

93-A2 

500 

60 

19:68 

• 
30.0-34.0 

33" 

K-34-D,  F. 

110350 

1 

20 

700 

2.02 

4 

30 

93-A2 

500 

60 

24:63 

26.0-29.0 

33" 

K-34-D,  F. 

110350 

1 

20 

700 

2.02 

4 

30 

305 

500 

60 

18:69 

32.0-36.0 

33" 

K-34-D,  F. 

110350 

1 

20 

700 

2.02 

4 

30 

305 

500 

60 

21:66 

30.0-34.0 

33" 

K-34-D,  F. 

110350 

1 

20 

700 

2.02 

4 

30 

112-B 

500 

75 

19:70 

30.0-34.0 

33" 

K-34-D,  F. 

136264 

7 

22 

770 

1.74 

112-B 

500 

75 

20:69 

30.0-34.0 

33" 

K-34-D,  F. 

136264 

7 

22 

770 

1.74 

304 

500 

75 

18:69 

34.0-38.0 

33" 

K-34-D,  F. 

136264 

7 

22 

770 

1.74 

304 

500 

75 

21:66 

30.0-34.0 

33" 

K-34-D,  F. 

136264 

7 

22 

770 

1.74 

121-A 

550 

90 

17:58 

37.0-41.0 

33" 

K-34-D,  F. 

136265 

6 

28 

840 

1.48 

121-A 

550 

90 

20:55 

35.0-39.0 

33" 

K-34-D,  F. 

136265 

6 

28 

840 

1.48 

NOTE. — Where  two  sub-letters  in  any  controller  type  designation  are  listed,  the  second  indicates 
the  controller  which  operates  the  auxiliary  contactor. 

In  selecting  resistors  for  gear  ratios  not  listed,  note  that  with  a  given  resistance,  a  lower  speed  gear 
ratio  is  accompanied  by  a  corresponding  increase  in  car  weight  and  vice  versa. 


242 


ELECTRIC  CAR   MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


TF*yT  \ *  3?\  *-A  \ «  ^  A  » V 

O      Ji<*v«<\^        u-  \   \  u.    ^  \  cc  \  or  \ 
\     X||       <?   \  6<   9\°5    91    &       ?   |   ?X,   9^ 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


243 


244 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


245 


246 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


mar 
jumr 
jinnr 
jumr 
jinnr 
jinnr 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


247 


C3       O 


17 


248 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


CONTROL  FOR  TYPE   1400  CARS 

njuinn 

i°  °~^2) — I      [  w* — 


POINT 

SWITCHES 

1ST 

L.S. 

M1 

JR 

2ND 

L.S. 

M1 

s 

JR 

3RD 

L.S. 

,M1 

s 

JR 

RR1 

4TH 

L.S. 

M1 

s 

JR 

RR1 

R1 

5TH 

L.S. 

M1 

s 

JR 

RR1 

R1 

RR2 

6TH 

L.S. 

M1 

s 

JR 

RR1 

R1 

RR2 

R2 

7TH 

L.S. 

M1 

s 

JR 

RR1 

R1 

RR2 

R2 

RR3 

8TH 

L.S. 

MJ 

s 

JR 

RR1 

R1 

RR2 

R2 

RR3 

R3 

TRANS. 

L.S. 

M1 

s 

JR 

RR1 

R1 

RR2 

R? 

RR3 

R3 

J 

TPANP. 

L.S. 

MJ 

s 

J 

TFANP. 

US. 

M1 

s 

M2 

G 

J 

9TH 

L.S. 

M1 

s 

M2 

G 

10TH 

L.S. 

M1 

s 

M2 

G 

RR1 

R1 

1  1TH 

L.S. 

M1 

s 

M2 

G 

RR1 

R1 

RR2 

R2 

12TH 

L.S. 

M  1 

s 

M2 

G 

RR1 

R1  |RR2 

R2 

RR3 

R3 

FIG.  71. — Circuit    diagram    and    sequence    of    switches  B.  R.  T.  type   1400  Cars 
with  Westinghouse  251-1-3  control  (C.  W.  Squier). 


ON  1300  SERIES  CARS,  SWITCHES 
Nos.  9  &  10  COME  IN  AT  SAME 
TIME  AS  No.  8. 


POINT 

SWITCHES 

1ST 

C.  B. 

6 

7 

2ND 

C.B. 

6 

7 

8 

3RD 

C.B. 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

4TH 

C.B. 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

3 

5TH 

C.B. 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

3 

1 

2 

TRANS. 

C.B. 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

3 

1 

9 

5 

TRANS. 

C.B. 

6 

8 

5 

TRANS. 

C.B. 

fi 

8 

5 

12 

4 

13 

6TH 

C.B. 

6 

8 

12 

4 

13 

7TH 

C.B. 

6 

8 

9 

10 

12 

4 

13 

8TH 

C.B. 

6 

8 

9 

10 

1  1 

3 

12 

4 

13 

9TH 

C.B. 

6 

8 

9 

10 

1  1 

3 

1 

2 

12 

4 

13 

FIG.  72. — Main  motor  circuit  diagram  and  sequence  of  switches  of  turret  control 

(C.  W.  Squier). 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


249 


Cars  with  .  .  . 

K-ll  controllers 
DT-11  resistance 
GE-64  motors 

POINT 

RESISTANCE 

1 

5  .  75  to  6 

.  20  ohms 

2 

3.  70  to  4 

.  20  ohms 

3 

2.  30  to  2 

.  70  ohms 

4 

1.60  to  2 

.  00  ohms 

5 

1.00  to  1 

.40  ohms 

6 

3.05  to  3 

.  40  ohms 

7 

1.60tol 

.95  ohms 

8 

.90  to  1 

.  20  ohms 

9 

.30  to 

.  70  ohms 

MOTORS 

Armatures     .  190  to 

.270 

Fields 

.215  to 

.300 

f  K-28-L  controllers 

Cars  with.  .  . 

.  {   DE-28  resistance 

[  93-A-2  motors 

POINT 

RESISTANCE 

1 

5.  30  to  5 

80  ohms 

2 

3.95  to  4 

45  ohms 

3 

2.45  to  2 

95  ohms 

4 

1.25  to 

75  ohms 

5 

-.95  to 

45  ohms 

6 

1.65  to 

95  ohms 

7 

1.25  to 

.55  ohms 

8 

.90  to 

.  20  ohms 

9 

.50  to 

.75  ohms 

10 

.25  to 

.45  ohms 

MOTORS 

Armatures     .  150  to 

.225 

Fields 

.  160  to 

.210 

FIG.  73. — Resistance  limits  for  inspec- 
tion test  set  (B.  R.  T.). 


FIG.  74. — Resistance  limits  for  inspec- 
tion test  set  (B.  R.  T.). 


Cars  with  .  . 

f  K-ll  controllers 
.  .  \  K  resistance 
[  West.-93  motors 

POINT 

RESISTANCE 

1 

4 

45  to 

5 

00 

ohms 

2 

2 

75  to 

3 

15 

ohms 

3 

1 

.35  to 

1 

75 

ohms 

4 

1 

.00  to 

1 

40 

ohms 

5 

.80  to 

1 

15 

ohms 

6 

2 

20  to 

2 

50 

ohms 

7 

.85  to 

1 

.15 

ohms 

8 

.45  to 

.85 

ohms 

9 

.25  to 

.70 

ohms 

MOTORS 

Armatures 

.220  to 

.240 

Fields 

.  185  to 

.205 

Cars  with.  . 

{K-ll  controllers 
DT-11  resistance 
West.-  93  motors 

POINT 

RESISTANCE 

1 

5 

30  to  5 

.  75  ohms 

2 

3 

30  to  3 

.  75  ohms 

3 

2 

00  to  2 

.40  ohms 

4 

1 

35tol 

.75  ohms 

5 

95tol 

.25  ohms 

6 

2 

75  to  3 

.  10  ohms 

7 

1 

45tol 

.  80  ohms 

8 

SOtol 

.  10  ohms 

9 

25  to 

.  70  ohms 

MOTORS 

Armatures 

.220  to 

.240 

Fields 

.  185  to 

.205 

FIG.  75. — Resistance  limits  for  inspec- 
tion test  set  (B.  R.  T.). 


FIG.  76. — Resistance  limits  for  inspec- 
tion  test  set   (B.   R.   T.). 


250 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


Cars  with  .  . 

{K-ll  controllers 
K  resistance 
West.-81  motors 

POINT 

RESISTANCE 

1 

4 

45  to  5 

00  ohms 

2 

2 

75  to  3 

15  ohms 

3 

1 

35  to  1 

75  ohms 

4 

1 

00  to  1 

40  ohms 

5 

SOtol 

15  ohms 

6 

2 

20  to  2 

50  ohms 

7 

85  to  1 

15  ohms 

8 

45  to 

85  ohms 

9 

25  to 

70  ohms 

MOTORS 

Armatures 

.  150  to 

.250 

Fields 

.  150  to 

.180 

(K-11  controllers 

Cars  with.  . 

DT-11  resistance 

West.-81  motors 

POINT 

RESISTANCE 

1 

5  .  20  to  5  .  75  ohms 

2 

3  .  20  to  3  .  75  ohms 

3 

2.  00  to  2.  40  ohms 

4 

1  .  30  to  1  .  70  ohms 

5 

.80  to  1.20  ohms 

6 

2.65  to  3.10  ohms 

7 

1  .  40  to  1  .  80  ohms 

8 

.  80  to  1  .  10  ohms 

9 

.  25  to     .  70  ohms 

MOTORS 

Armatures     .  150  to  .250 

Fields 

.  150  to  .  180 

FIG.  77. — Resistance  limits  for  inspec- 
tion test  set  (B.  R.  T.). 


FIG.  78. — Resistance  limits  for  inspec- 
tion test  set  (B.  R.  T.). 


No.  1 

FRAME 


20  Grids 


14  Grids 


FIG.  79. — Lundie  resistance  used 
with  K-ll  controller  (B.  R.  T.). 


FIG.  80. — Westinghouse  two-point  sus- 
pension resistance  used  with  K-ll  controller 
and  two  motors  (B.  R.  T.). 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


251 


SPM901 


OZ16-N 


|3||BJBd  ui 


|3||BJBJ 


6U6-M 
SPN301  SRM301 


252 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


|8||8JBj  u|  z 
02160ISPM902 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


253 


^r 

26-GRIDS  12-GRIDS 

No.  12  No.  12 

R-l  TO  2  -  1.65-  OHMS  R-3  TO  4  -  1.95  -  OHMS 

R-2  TO  3-2.10- OHMS    TOTAL  -  5.70  -  OHMS 

FIG.  86. — Arrangement  of  GE  rheostat  type  R-G-A-2  on  cars  with  type  M  con- 
trol and  two  GE-234  motors  (B.  R.  T.). 


FRAME  No.l 


FRAME  No. 2 


FRAME  No. 3 


s~ 

R-2^ 

)                                                         / 

1 

R-5 

i 

J-7467 

20  -GRIDS 

PARALLEL 

J  -  7467  < 

R-4 

8-GRIDS 

K-2444 

1 

1 

s- 

• 

R-i 

R-3^ 

I 

" 

J 

R-3 
R-l -TO- 2  -   1.6  -OHMS  R-3  -TO- 4  -  .32  -OHMS 

R- 2-TO-3  -   1.2   -       ••  R-4-TO-5   -  .24  - 

FIG.  87. — Arrangement  of  two-point  suspension  used  with  K-ll   controllers  and 

two  motors   (B.  R.  T.). 

FRAME  No.l  FRAME  No. 2  FRAME  No. 3 


,       N-3357 

1  1 

1 

'  1 

| 

| 

*"*•                                                              1 

1                                       7-GRIDS 

Y"6|                                                        r^ 

|R-5 

I 

|  p      A 

j^^ 

1                                                        _ 

1 

1                              ' 

!     7-r;mn<; 

1 

1 

I 

•   | 

FIG.  88. — Arrangement  of    grids    on    work    cars    with    K-6    controllers   and  four 

motors  (B.  R.  T.). 


254 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


73      3D     O 

u     ~    O 

1      r-    Z 


O     O 

_     H 

z    m 


FRAME  No.l 


FRAME  No.  2 


-    O 


z 

*  r 

^Q     ^O 

i    ri> 

=  5 

o 


a  2 


R-2L 


R-4 


R-5 


1 

z 

CO 

0 

73 
O 
CO 

03 
O 

Q 

^rj 

i    i 

1 

! 

CO 

9 

1 

1    f 

1 

"1    to 

1 

1 

V 

1 

1 

1    Z. 

1 

\     OJ 

1 

2 

i 

R-l-TO-2  -   2.016  -OHMS 
R-2-TO-3   -    1-28    - 


R-3-TG-4  -.64  -OHMS 
R-4-TO-5  -.48-      •« 


FIG.  89. — Arrangement   of   grids  on  cars  with  K-2,  K-ll  and  K-27-A  controllers 
and  two  motors  (B.  R.  T.). 


FRAME  No.l 


FRAME  No.  2 


r 

£  1 

^ 

4-GRIDS< 

I 

i 

> 

i  ' 

lO-GRIDSJ 

I  ' 

j 

i 

i 

1 

> 

•  r  . 

i 

i 

i 

11-GRIDS< 

N-3354 

i 

WR-1 

R-  l-TO-2  -  .66  -  OHMS 
R-  2-TO-3  -    .5  -        - 


wR-5 

R.3-TO-4   -  .80  -  OHMS 
R-4-TO-5   -  .9545  -    " 


FIG.  90. — Arrangement  of  grids  on  cars  with  K-28-B  controllers  and  four  motors 

(B.  R.  T.). 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


255 


FRAME  No.l 


FRAME  No.  2 


FRAMh  No.  J 


Z  oo 


1 

1 

1 

S    1 

1 

V  1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

u-1 


2  .  ^ 

^Ol 

2  o 
WC)> 

01  *° 
LJO 

1 

1 

>     * 

p  o                                              1 

h--l 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

R-5 


il 

^  to  TJ 

^ 

O) 

Z  £ 
?  to  Q 

rsl 

1 

1 

1 

1 

Ip4 

1                K4 

m 

i 

i 

i 

i 

i 

i 

i 

R-i                        | 

"*                          1 

-1     ) 

R-l-TO-2   -2.908 -OHMS  R-3-JO-4   -  80  -  OHMS 

R-2-JO-3     -     L92-        "  R-4-TO-5-48- 

FIG.  91. — Arrangement  of  grids  used  on  single-truck  cars  with  K-ll  controllers 
and  two  motors  (B.  R.  T.). 


FRAME  No.l 


FRAME  No. 2 


6-GRIDS' 
N-3210 


4-GRIDS, 
N-3353 


8-GRIDS 
N-3210 


k 


R-4 


fej           ' 

L    2-GRIDS 
'    N-3210 

16-GRIDS 
*"  N-3353 

•  '  \ 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

•  R-5                        J 

R  - 1  -TO  -  2  -  1.088  -  OHMS 

R-2-TO-3-  .32 

R -3 -TO- 4  -  1.088 

R-4  -TO -5-  1.28 

FIG.  92. — Arrangement    of    grids   used   with   K-28-L   controllers   and  two  motors 

(B.  R.  T.). 


256 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


24 


R2 


14-A-  24  +  (14-A6  +  12-A-13  + 
1 1  -  A  -  5)  =  48  grids  total 
R^  3Q  grids  of  2§£\±  =  5.32  ohms 

R2  to  R3, 13  grids  of  26,512  =  1.47  ohms 
R2  to  R4,  5  grids  of  26,511  =0.45  ohms 

car  resistance  connections  for  two  GE-800  or   52  motors  and  K-2 
controllers  (P.  S.  Ry.). 

R4  12-  A  -24  +  (10-  A  -9+9-  A-9) 

,  _3  =42  grids  total 

IALL  GRIDS  IN  Ri  to  R2, 24  grids  of  26,512  =  2.71  ohms 
SERIES     R2toR3,  9  grids  of  26,510  =  0.83  ohms 
R "g  R3  to  R4,  6  grids  of  26,519  =  0.44  ohms 

R4toR5,  3  grids  of  26, 5 19  =0.22  ohms 
FIG.   94. — GE  car  resistance  connections  for  four  GE-800  or  52  motors  and  K-ll 
or  K-12  controllers  (P.  S.  Ry.). 

|Do  R^  R  fi 

10-A-18,   7-A-18,   6-A-18,   8-B-18 

=  72  grids  total 

Ri  to  R2,  18  grids  of  26,510  =  1.60  ohms 
R2  to  R3,  18  grids  of  26,507  =  0.85  ohms 
R3  to  R4,  11  grids  of  26,506  =  0.42  ohms 
R4  to  R5,  7  grids  of  26,506  =  0.28  ohms 
R6  to  R6,  10  grids  of  26,508  =  0.15  ohms 
R7  R6  to  R7,  8  grids  of  26,508  =0.12  ohms 

FIG.  95. — GE  car  resistance  connections  for  four  GE  57  (50  h.p.)  motors  and  K-14 

controllers  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


22 


R4 


11  -A -24+9- A -18  =  42     grids 

total 
Ri  to  R2,  22    grids  of  26,511=2.00 

ALL   GRIDS    IN  (jlllllS 

RE5R1E8     R2  to  R3,     2  grids  of  1 1  + 1 1  of  09  = 

0.98  ohms 

R3  to  R4,    4  grids  of   26,509=0.30 

ohms 

R4  to  R6,    3  grids  of  09  =0.22  ohms 

FIG.  96. — GE  car  resistance  connections  for  two  GE-57  (50  h.p.)  motors  and  K-ll 

controllers  (P.  S.  Ry.). 

R3,  ,R4 


R7 


•  SERIES 
PARELLEL 


R6 


ll-A-24+9-A-18+9B-18=60  grids  total 
Ri  to  R2,  21  grids  of  26,511  =  1.93  ohms 
R2  to  R3,    3  grids  of  11  +9  of  09  =0.94  ohms 
R3  to  R4,    6  grids  of  26,509  =0.44  ohms 
R4  to  R6,    3  grids  of  09+4  of  09  =0.29  ohms 
R5  to  R8,    8  grids  of  26,509  =  0.15  ohms 
R«  to  R7,    6  grids  of  26,509  =0.11  ohms 

FIG.  97. — GE  car  resistance  connections  for  four  GE-58  or  1000  motors  and  K-6 

controllers  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


[SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


257 


Total  Grids  100— All  in  series 
Ri  to  R2,  49  grids  of  7,648=2.94  ohms 
R2  to  R3,  21  grids  of  3,444  =  0.84  ohms 
R3  to  R4,  17  grids  of  2,445  =  0.51  ohms 
R4  to  R6,  13  grids  of  9,120  =  0.26  ohms 


Rs 


FIG.  98. — Westinghouse    car    resistance    connections   for   two    West.    68   or   other 

40-h.p.  motors  and  K-ll  controllers  or  other  controllers  designed  for  a 

six-section  coil  (P.  S.  Ry.) 

Total  Grids  120 
Ri  to  R2,  25  grids  of  7,468  =  1.50 

ohms 
R2  to  R3,  15  grids  of  2,444  =  0.60 

ohms 
R3  to  R4,  26  grids  of  9,119  =0.39 

ohms 
£6  R4to  R5,  28  grids  of  2,444  =  0.28 

ohms 
R&  to  R6,  14  grids  of  2,444  =  0.14 

ohms 
Re  to  R7,  12  grids  of  2,445  =  0.09 

ohms 

FIG.  99. — Westinghouse   car  resistance   connection  for  four  West.  68  or  other  40- 
h.p.  motors  and  K-6  controllers  or  other  controllers  designed  for  a  six-section 

coil  (P.  S.  Ry.). 

13-A-24  +  12-  A  -10  +  10-A-ll 
R5  =45  grids 

ALL  GRIDS  IN  RI  to  R2, 24  grids  of  26,513  =  3.40  ohms 
8ERIE8     R2  to  R3, 10  grids  of  26,512  =  1.13  ohms 
R3toR4,    7  grids  of  26,510  =  0.65  ohms 
R4toR5,    4  grids  of  26,510  =0.37  ohms 
FIG.  100. — GE  car  resistance  connections  for  two  GE-67  or  80-C  motors  and  K-ll 

controller  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


24 


18 


FIG. 


SERIES 
PARELLEL 


ll-A-24+8-A-18+9-B-18  =  60  grids 
Ri  to  R2,  18  grids  of  26,511  =  1.66  ohms 

R2  to  R3,    6  grids  of  11  +5  of  08  =  0.84  ohms 
R3  to  R4,    9  grids  of  08  =0.53  ohms 

R4  to  R6,    4  grids  of  08  =  0.24  ohms 

R6  to  R6,  10  grids  of  09=0.18  ohms 

Re  to  R7,    8  grids  of  09  =0.15  ohms 

101. — GE  car  resistance  connections  for  four  GE-67  or  80  C  motors  and  K-6 
controller  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


258 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


18GRIDS-CG-8A 


.    18  GRIDS-CG-5A, 


,   18  GRIDS-CG-5A 


TOTAL  RESISTANCE 
3.20     OHMS. 


FIG.  102. — Construction  and  connection  of  GE  car  resistance  for  four  GE-57  motors 
and  K-35  controller  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


TOTAL  RESISTANCE  3-00  OHMS. 
7- A -20 


7-A-20 


iRl  'R2  R4|    i  |R5 

Ri  to  R2,  20  grids  of  26,507  =  1.00  ohms 
R2  to  R3,  11  grids  of  26,507  =  0.55  ohms 
R3  to  R4,  9  grids  of  26,507  =  0.45  ohms 
R5  to  R6,  11  grids  of  26,507  =  0.55  ohms 
R6  to  R7,  9  grids  of  26,507  =0.45  ohms 

FIG.  103. — Construction   and   connection  of  standard  car  resistance  for    four   GE- 
57  motors  and  K-35  controller  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


R5 


0,80  OHM  TOTAL  RESISTANCE  2.91  OHM 

FIG.  104. — Construction  and  connection  of  Westinghouse  car  resistance,  style  No. 
55149,  for  West.  101-B-2  motors  and  K-28-B  controller  (P.  S.  Ry.) . 


0,66  OHM 
11   GRIDS 

K<: 

0,50  OHM 
10  GRIDS 

|KJ 

!     !       ! 

U-4-H             M-  6—  >• 
1              10  GRIDS 

i 
10,95    OHM 
19  GRIDS 

<     N  3354 

C  N   3213 

N  3353 

N  3213 

SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


259 


N  3357  N  3355 

TOTAL  RESISTANCE   2,94  OHM 

FIG.  105. — Construction  and  connection  of  Westinghouse  car  resistance,  style  No. 
55147,  for  four  West.  101-C  motors  and  K-6  controller  (P.  S.  Ry.) 


COPPER  CONNECTORS 


o 


ALL  GRIDS  IN    PARALLEL  TWO  GRIDS  IN   PARALLEL  THREE  GRIDS  IN   PARALLEL 

FIG.  106. — Method  of  making  connection  between  Westinghouse  grids. 


260  ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 

R*  Ri 


Bi  _  N32H         _    R2  A 

kinnnnjuinnrr  ' 


FRAME 


NO.  1  FRAME 


No. 2  FRAME 


).2  FRAME 


-N3355 


N0.3  FRAME      [JIMI^^  No.  3  FRAM E 


NO. 4  FRAME 
NO. 5  FRAME 


RESISTANCE  PER  STEP 


Rl-Rj=.60  OHMS 

R2-Ra=.32 

Rs-R*=.24 

R«-Rs=.15 

R»-R7=.32 

Rr-R8=.24 

R6-Rs=.15 


Style  110350 

kfuuinjuuin]  NO.  1 


NO. 2  FRAME 


N3214  "3  N3357  _ 

(jmnpnjpnjuuuu^ 

RESISTANCE  PER  STEP 
Rt-Rz=.  600  OHMS   Rs-R«=. 450  OHMS 
R;-R3=.450     "       R&-R?=.225    " 

R3-R<=.225    "      Style  136263 

R,  N3215 


3  FRAME 


FRAME 


No. 2  FRAME 
X 


NO. 3  FRAME 
X 


No. 4  FRAME 


NO.  5  FRAME 


NO.  6  FRAME 


NO. 7  FRAME 


^3355- 

RESISTANCE  PER  STEP 

Ri-Rs=.80  OHMS 
Rj-Ra=.40      •• 
R3-R4  =  .24      ' 
Rs-Rs=.40      " 
Rs-R7=.24      " 

Style  139924 


.5  FRAME 


6  FRAME 


RESISTANCE  PER  STEP 
R1-R2=.36  OHMS 

Rz-R3=.26 


R4-R5=.12 
Re-R7=.26 
R?-R8=.18 
Rs-R9=.12 

Style  136265 


RESISTANCE  PER  STEP 
R.-R»=.44  OHMS 
Re-R3=.30 
R8-R4=.20 
R4-R»=.13 
Rs-R7=.30 
R7-Rs=.20 
Rs-R«=.13 


1  FRAME 


NO. 2  FRAME 


No. 3  FRAME 

N3213 


N33S7 

RESISTANCE  PER  STEP 
Ri-Rj=1.9  OHMS 
R«-Rj=1.02    " 

fi!-R'=!285  "      Style  138767 
Kyle  136264 
Fia.  107. — Combinations  and  steps  of  Westinghouse  grids. 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


261 


NO. 2  FRAME 


No.1  FRAME 


R4        Ri 


RESISTANCE  PER  STEP 

Ri-R<=  2.80  OHMS 
R»-R<=.96 

R4-Ri  =  !32 

Style  55137 


No. 2  FRAME 


No.  1  FRAME 


N5968  R2     N3212 

RESISTANCE  PER  STEP 

R,-R2=r2.40  OHMS 
Rz-R3=.70 
R3-R4=.42 
R4-Rs=.28       •" 


Style  55139 


N3215 


N3214 


Jo. 2  FRAME 


NO.  1  FRAME 


Rl          N5968  N3213  N3214 

RESISTANCE  PER  STEP 

Ri-Rz=1.80  OHMS 
Rz-R3=.60 

R4-R5  =  '.28 

Style  55143 


NO.  2  FRAME 


NO.1  FRAME 


RESISTANCE  PER  STEP 


Ri-R*  =  3.40  OHMS 
R2-R3=1.00      " 
R3-R4=.50 
R4-Rs=.30 

Style  5587 1-A 


No.1  FRAME 


No. 2  FRAME 


NO. 3  FRAME 


N3355- 

RESISTANCE  PER  STEP 

Rs-R4=87  OHMS 
R4-R3-70      " 
Ri-Rz=60     " 
Rz-Rs-43 


Style  83372 


NO. 3  FRAME 


N3214 v£ N3354 ^_ 

tamjlllllflflF 


RESISTANCE  PER  STEP 
Ri-Ra=.84  OHMS 

R3-R4=.'45      " 
R5-R6=.72 


N3354 


.2  FRAME 


No.  1  FRAME 


NO. 3  FRAME  R6-R7='.45    "        Style  108372 


No.  2  FRAME 


NO.  1  FRAME 


NS210  N3355 

RESISTANCE  PER  STEP 

Ri-Rz=,138  OHMS 
Rz-R3=.56 
R3-R4=.26 
R4-Ro  =  .195 
Rs-Rfi-.  150 
R6-R7-.09 


NO. 3 
FRAME 


4I0.2 
UME 


R4  Ra 

RESISTANCE  PER  STEP 
Ri-Rz  =  .75  OHMS 
R2-R3=r.72     " 


,N0.1 
-RAME 


Style  55151  R^SSlSI   '-'       Style  108478 

FIG.  108. — Combinations  and  steps  of  Westinghouse  grids. 


262 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


1  No.  5 


|< RG-5A18-T-5A18 J  j< — RG-5A12-3A6-T-3A18— *j  K RG-5A18-T-5A18 ^j 


Resistance  per  Division 
R1-R2=.57  Ohms. 
R2-R3  =.48       " 
R3-R4=.36       >' 
R5-R6  =  .44       •• 
R6-R7  =.35       • » 
Totai=2.20      " 

FIG.  109. — Connections  of  RG.  rheostats  to  be  used  with  K-35  G2  controller 


24  No.  10 


|«--RG-10A24-T-10A24->!      K-RG-9A18-T-9A12-5A6->j       h— RG-5A18-T-5A18->) 


Resistance  per  Division 
R1-R2  =  2.40  Ohms. 
R2-R3  =  1.50      » 
R3-R4=   .528    " 
R4-R5=   .396   » 


Resistance  by  Step 

1  -  4.824  Ohms. 

2  =  2.424       " 
3=    .924      ?• 
4=    .000      •« 
5=2.424      " 


7=    .396      » 
8=  .000      •• 

FIG.  110. — Connections  of  RG  rheostats  used  with  K-36-J  controllers  and  four  GE- 
210  motors  connected  two  in  series  as  one  motor. 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


263 


18  No. 


Resistance  by  Steps 
1=  1.962    Ohms. 


4=  .48 

5=  .22 

6=  .00 

7  =  .39 

8=  .24 

9  =  .11 

10  =  .00 


Resistance  Approximate 
-    R1-R2  =  .39  Ohms. 

R2-R3  =.30 

R3-R4  =  .26 

R4-R5  =  .22 

R6-R7  =  .308 

R7-R8  =  .264 

R8-R9  =  .22 


RG-5A18-T-5A16 


FIG.  111. — Connections  of  RG  rheostat  for  four  50  h.  p.  motors  and  K-34-D 

controller. 


GROUND 

if 

26H    BARS 
C.L.TO  C.L. 

/y-  -xf 

n 

I 

0 

/  1       \ 

3 

/ 

/          1     ARMATURE      1 

^  —  *r 

UJ 

u. 

Ni  ATinN  A  1 

^ 

GROUND 


FIGS.  112    AND    113. — Connections   for    National  and   Westinghouse   compressors 

(Baltimore). 


TO  MOTOR 


MAGNfT  R    OPERATED 
TROLLEY   BY   CONTACT      r 

MAGNET    L   OPERATED 
BY   CONTACT      I 


START  I 
STOP  T 


BLOW  COIL 


18 


FIG.  114. — Connection  of  Christensen  air  governor  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


264 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


NOTE: 

CONNECT   CHOKE   COIL    IN   SERIES 
WITH    MAIN   TROLLEY  WIRE  AND   TAP  ARRESTER 
ON   BETWEEN   CHOKE  COIL  AND  FUSE   BOX. 


TO   CONTROLLER 


TROLLEY   WIRE 


(SMOKE 


FROM 

OVERHEAD 
BREAKER 
OR  SWITCH 


LIGHTNING   ARRESTER 


rTO    GROUND 


FIG.  115. — Connections  of  choke  coil  and  lightning  arrester  (P.  S.  Ry.)< 


N0.1    BREAKER 


FACING   EITHER   END   OF  CAR 
TROLLEY   SOCKET   TO   THE   LEFT 


TROLLEY  AND  GROUND  CROSSED  ON  No.  2  END 

FIG.  116. — Arc  light  connections  for  double-end  car  (P.  S.  Ry.)- 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION   PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


265 


S.L. 


H.L.  r=    HEADLIGHT 
S.L.    =     SIGN    LIGHT 

P.L.  =  PLATFORM  LIGHT 


K     =    LIGHT   SWITH 

F    =    FUSE   UNLESS   IN   SWITCH 


FIG.  117. — Light   connections  for   single-end  car    (P.   S.   Ry.). 


H.L,  =  HEADLIGHT 
S.L.  =  SIGN  LIGHT 
P.L.  =  PLATFORM  LIGHT 


K  1  =    3  WAY  SWITCH 

K2=    MAIN   SWITCH 

F      =     FUSE    UNLESS   IN   SWITCH 


FIG.  118. — Incandescent  lamp  circuits  for  double-end  car  (P.  S.  Ry.). 


/)] 

^ 

0 

1-C 

6                o                o               o        T 

1"B                                 -2-A                                 1-A 

f 

Q         [J 

-EE 

UJ 

j 

3-C 

,2-C                             II3-B                         2-0                                    J|3.A                        2-E 

^      L 

IG 

'                                  ^ 

)-           d-           -      y     5  fl-- 

\ 

Jj 

1-E 

^ 

3-D                                  4-C                                    3-E                                4-B 

"1 

— 

—  ^  -^ 

.^__  ^     _^_             o_            o_      I 

4.-DD   I       \ 

* 


FIG.  119. — Lighting  layout  for  a  car  with  28-ft.  body  (B.  R.  T.). 


FIG.  120. — Lighting  layout  for  a  convertible  car  42  ft.  6  in.  overall  (B.  R.  T.). 


266 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


FLUSH  PUSH  BUTTONS              /                  BA 
(3  CELLS  1 

TTERY     .  CUljrLTfl 
M  SERIESn__r 

I 

MONITOR 

SPECIAL  DAMP-PROOF  OFFICE  WIRE  NO.18  B.  AS.  GAGE 

I 

SIGNAL  BELL  CIRCUIT 


f  -, 

PRESSOR 
£WITCHQ 
^-  ^ 

FROM  MAIN  TROLLEY 

,  ^ 

^-19  STRANDS  OF  NO.  25  B.4S.  WIRE 

WIRING  BENEATH  CAR  TO  BE  IN  \"  CONDUIT 
GOVERNOR                             COMPRESSOR 

SWITCH 
•** 

AIR  COMPRESSOR  WIRING 


/NO.  12  B.A8.  WIRE 


^ 

IQ  i 


WITH  OUTLETS  AT  EACH  HEATER 

I  CONDUIT  IN  TRUSS  PLAN 


r-ilDillD!  IDi     i  JD!  I  J  JD 


HEATER  CIRCUIT 


,  7* 

CIRCUIT 
BREAKER 

n  

"^~l  STRANDS  OF  NO.  10  B.&S.  WIRE 
IU.8.  TROLLEY  BASE 

t- 

•  NTROLLE 

|_I 

H                      f<                       ir'    " 

l_r 

'    CHOKE  COIL 

BREAKE 

\-  - 

-     ^L 

<S~ 

CHOKE  COIL  TO  HAVE  2  X  20  WOOD  CORE  AND  DOUBLE  LAYER  OF  WIRE 

POWER  CIRCUIT        •..'•" 

FIG.  121. — Wiring  diagrams  of  1913  type  cars,  United  Railways  &  Electric  Company 

of  Baltimore. 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


267 


w3n  p<»n  <»v 


268 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


FIG.    123.—  Wir- 
ing  of  Consolidated 
93  heater  (B.  R.    T.) 


FIG.  124.—  Wiring 

of  Consolidated   103 

T  heater  (B.    R.  T.). 


i — VWWVV — ' 


FIG.  125.— Wiring  for  Con- 
solidated No.  118  W  special 
heater  (B.R.T.). 


FIG.  126. — Wiring  for 
Consolidated  No.  143  LL 
heater. 


FIG.  127.— Wir- 
ing for  Consolidated 
146X  (B.  R.  T.). 


FIG.  128.— Wiring 
for  Consolidated  No.  192 
heater  (B.  R.  T.). 


SHOP  INSTRUCTION  PRINTS  AND  TABLES 


269 


f 


FIG.  129.— Wiring  for 
Gold  two-coil  column  heater 
(B.  R.  T.). 


-R 

2< 

FIG.     130. — Wiring  FIG.     131. — Wiring     for 

for  Gold  three-coil  panel    Gold     two-column     panel 
heater  (B.  R.  T.).  heater  (B.  R.  T.). 


Ti 

i 

2< 


G 


FIG.    132.— Wiring    for  FIG.     133.— Wiring    for  FIG.    134.— Wiring 

Gold  two-coil  .panel  heater     Consolidated  No.  192  heater     for    Consolidated    No. 
(B.  R.  T.).  (B.  R.  T.). 


167  heater  (B.  R.  T.). 


270 


ELECTRIC  CAR  MAINTENANCE  METHODS 


FIG.  135. — Wiring  for 
Consolidated  Nos.  217  RJ, 
192  W  and  Gold  two-coil 
column  heaters  (B.  R.  T.). 


FIG.  136.— Wiring  for 
Consolidated  No.  192 
heater  (B.  R.  T.). 


FIG.  137.— Wiring  for 
Consolidated  No.  118WE 
heater  (B.  R.  T.). 


TJ. 

2 


ri 


FIG.  138.— Wiring  for 
Consolidated  No.  143  LL 
heater  (B.  R.  T.). 


FIG.  139.— Wiring  for 
Consolidated  217  R  heater 
(B.  R.  T.). 


FIG.  140. — Wiring  for 
Consolidated  No.  143  LL 
or  L.S.  heaters  (B.R.T.). 


INDEX 


Air-cleansing,  single-end  arch-roof  cars,  9 
-hose    nipples,    preventing    rusting 

of,  34 

Armature  clearance  gages,  Toronto,  122 
practices,  Toronto,  107 
testing,  Brooklyn,  135 
Cincinnati,  136 

with  portable  transformer,  119 
truck,  205 

of  skeleton  type,  207 
wagon,  205 

Armatures,  blowing  out  of,  106 
Axle-bearing  sleeves,  42 
straightener,  203 


B 


Banding  wire,  application  of,  108 

with  a  lathe,  208 
Bearings,   boring  motor   bearings   on   a 

converted  planer,  91 
cast-iron     armature     bearings     and 

motor  axle  linings,  84 
chuck  for  boring,  87 
composition      for      armature      and 

journals,  85 

lathe  attachment  for,  203 
lathe    attachment    for    boring    and 

facing  armature  bearings,  88 
metals,  Richmond,  85 
non-babbitt,  90 
practice,  Columbus,  84 

New  Orleans,  84 
re-babbitting  of,  93 
removing  and  replacing,  85 
shaper  adapted  for  planing  journal 

bearings,  86 

Bell  and  register  fixture,  Richmond,  17 
Blueprint  frame  for  drying,  217 
Brake    equipment,    adjusting    Westing- 
house  Electric  pump  Governor, 
36 

rebushing     air     compressor     cyl- 
inders. 35 


Brake  equipment,  tightening  compressor 

motor  bearings,  35 
hangers,  drilling  jig  for,  23 
light-weight,  23 
Richmond,  21 
leverage  diagrams,  Brooklyn,  26 

Hartford,  32     ;. 
rigging,  clasp  type,  37 
improved;  23 
instruction    prints    and    jigs    for 

gaging,  25 
pins.  21 

rusting  of  air-hose  nipples,  34 
Brakes,  carrying  air  connections,  Denver, 

1 

Broom-filling  at  Milwaukee,  67 
Brooms,  jig  for  boring  sweeper  centers,  66 
Brush-holder  experiences,  124 
jigs,  Providence,  121 

Toronto,  122 
trouble,  123 
-setting.  222 
Bumpers  for  steel  cars,  wood-cushioned,  6 

special  to  prevent  overriding,  1 
Bus  line  and  jumper  connections  with 
rubber  hose,  3 


Cables  covered  with  rubber  hose,  3 
Calipers  for  gear  and  pinion  wear,  113 
Car  connections,  169 

hoist,  home-made,  194 

horse,  Denver,  195 

lift,  hydraulic,  with  cables,  196 

wheel  trucks  for  repair  shop,  197 

wiring  prints  for  shopmen,  221 
Carpentry  shop,   handling  long  timbers 
in,  204 

drawings,  standard  sizes  in,  8 
Cars,  sand-blasting  of,  57  • 
Caustic  soda  baths  for  trucks  and  motors, 

46 
Circuit-breaker  testing,  Montreal,  152 

-breakers  in  shop  protection  devices, 
200 


271 


272 


INDEX 


Circuit-breakers,    removing   brushes   of, 

167 

Clasp  type  brake  rigging,  37 
Cleaning    cars,    combined    suction    and 

pressure  apparatus  for,  49 
in  Denver,  46 
power-driven  brush  for,  50 
Coil  practice,  Baltimore,  105 
Brooklyn,  104 

field  testing  at  Brooklyn,  133 
impregnation  at  Anderson,  Ind., 

139 

of  field  coils,  Brooklyn,  138 
Providence,  104 
terminal  anchorage,  106 
Third  Avenue  Railway,  105 
Toledo,  106 

West  Penn  Railways,  105 
practices,  Brooklyn,  109 

splicing  with  silver  solder,  110 
Toronto,  107 
Collision-proof  device,   special  bumpers 

to  prevent  overriding,  1 
Commutator  building,  Toronto,  111 
nuts,  wrench  for,  214 
slotter  for  all  sizes,  213 
Louisville,  212 
with  swinging  frame,  210 
slotting,  Boston,  209 
experiences,  116 
New  Orleans,  111 
with  a  lathe,  208 

Commutators,  broken  leads  of,  119 
leads  at  Indianapolis,  106 
sand-blasting  of,  46 
Compressor  cylinders,  rebushing  of,  35 

motor  bearings,  tightening  of,  35 
Control,  addition  of  mechanical  reverser 

throw,  167 

multiple  unit  changes,  Brooklyn,  153 
of  motors,  mechanical,  146 
Controller  boards,  sand  blasting  of,  46 
changes,  Third  Avenue  Railway,  146 
diagrams  simplified,  150 
maintenance,  Brooklyn,  146 
work  at  Toronto,  148 
Controllers,  simplifying  B-8  controller  to 
eliminate  braking  features,  168 
Coupler  with  signal  and  lighting  attach- 
ments, 2 

Coupling,  chain  carry-iron  for  draw-bar, 
1 


Couplings,  inter-dashboard  spring,  2 
Cross-pit  truck  transfer-table,  195 
Curtain  painting,  easel  for,  17 

and  seating  practice,  Brooklyn,  14 
Cutter  for  metal,  home-made,  192 


D 


Dashboard  springs,  2 

Door  construction  to  exclude  drafts  on 

pay-within  cars,  20 
rollers,  babbitt  bearing  for,  12 

Drafting  room,   handy  blueprint  frame 
for,  217 

Draft  rigging,  chain  carry-iron  for  draw- 
bars, 1 

Draw-bars,  chain  carry-iron  for,  1 

Drawing,  standard  sizes  in  shop,  8 


E 


Electrical    practices,    applying    banding 

wire,  108 
Brooklyn,  109 

splicing  with  silver  solder,  119 
Toronto,  107 


Fender  and  truck  painting  with  an  air 

brush,  56 

painting  by  dipping,  56 
Frosting  glass  at  Syracuse,  58 
Floors,  renewing  cement,  9 


G 


Gage    for    paving    clearance    for    motor 

shells,  103 

wheels,  Brooklyn,  42 
Hartford,  40 
Indianapolis,  42 
two-fold,  40 
Gages  for  armature  clearance,  Toronto, 

122 

gear  and  pinion  wear,  113 
Gates,  preventing  accidents  from  open- 
ing, 12 
Gear  cases,  sealed  grease-hole  cover  for, 

103 

washing  machine,  60 
Gears  and  pinions,  recording  wear  of,  113 


INDEX 


273 


Glass,  frosting  of,  58 
Governor  adjusting,  36 
Grids,  see  resistances,  1 

H 

Hand-rails,  wrapping  rusty,  6 
Headlight  doors,  assembling  glass  in,  179 

resistance  coils,  stand  for,  178 
Heater,  electric,  for  car  washing,  47 

maintenance  specialization,  176 

portable  type  for  shop,  192 

testing,  Brooklyn,  175 
Heating,    excluding    drafts    from    pay- 
within  cars,  20 

Hoist  for  cars,  home-made,  194 
Horse,  convenient  car,  Denver,  195 


Impregnation  practice,  Anderson,  Ind., 

139 

Brooklyn,  138 

Instruction  prints  for  shopmen,  221 
Insulated  roof  for  electric  locomotives,  13 


Journal  boxes  and    pedestal,    rub-irons 

for,  39 
Jumper  testing,  Brooklyn,  4 


Lubrication,  oxy-acetylene  for  changing 

grease  to  oil,  69 
reclaiming  compressor  oil,  Brooklyn, 

83 

safety  waste  cans,  Chicago,  83 
syphon  for  emptying  oil  barrels,  78 


M 


Markers  electrically-lighted,  180 
Metal  cutter,  home-made,  192 
Mill-room  drawings  standard  sizes  in,  8 

handling  long  timbers  in,  204 
Motor  connections,  141 

data  sheet,  143 

diagrams  of  field  leads  and  brush 
spacings,  234 

equipment  mounting,  225 

field  lead  lengths,  233 
lead  connections,  140 
locations  and  order,  224 

rotation,  direction  of,  226 

terminal  connections,  229 

testing,  Indianapolis,  136 
Motors  as  generators,  141 

paving  clearance  gage  for  shells,  103 

welding  of,  188 


N 


Nail    driving    in    inaccessible    position, 
tools  for,  192 


Lathe  as  slotter  and  bander,  208 

attachment  for   boring  and   facing 

armature  bearings,  88 
for  boring  bearings,  203 

wheels,  215 

Lift  for  cars,  employing  cables,  196 
Lighting  attachments  to  coupler,  2 
markers  electrically,  180 
of  step,  prepayment  cars,  179 
Link,  new  design  of  swing,  38 
Lubrication,  capillary  oiler,  69 

keeping  oil  warm,  Denver  &  Inter- 
urban  Railway,  77 
Hartford,  77 
of    elevated    and    surface    motors, 

Brooklyn,  72 

oil  economy,  New  Orleans,  78 
-reclaiming  tank,  78 


Oil  box  for  grease  type  motors,  69 

cups  for  integral  type,  71 
Oiling,  see  Lubrication,  69 
Open  cars,  protection  of  seat  buffers,  14 


Painter's  scaffold,  San  Francisco,  56 
Painting  fenders  and  trucks  with  an  air 

brush,  56 
by  dipping,  56 

handling  varnish  by  air  pressure,  57 
sand-blasting  of  cars,  57 
Paint  preservation  versus  washing  cars, 

51 

shop  kink  in  drying  racks,  57 
Panels,  steel  over  wood,  11 


274 


INDEX 


Pedestals  and  journal  boxes,  rub-irons 
for,  39 

Pinion  puller,  206 

Pins  for  brake  rigging,  21 

Pit  safety  device,  199 

Planer  converted  to  bore  motor  bearings, 
91 

Platform  wear  reduced  by  using  reinforc- 
ing strips,  10 

Push-button  signal  for  conductor,  185 


Rattan  broom-filling  machine,  Milwau- 
kee, 67 

seat  construction,  Brooklyn,  14 
seats  protection,  13 

Register  and  bell  fixture,  Richmond,  17 
Registers,  ringing  two  and  one  rod,  17 
Resistance  adjustment,  Indianapolis,  157 
calculations  and  rate  of  acceleration, 

158 

construction  of  grid  starting  coils,  161 
improvement  of,  in  Brooklyn,  156 
Resistances  with  removable  grids,  To- 
ronto, 157 

Resistors  for  street  railway  service,  164 
Retriever,  repair  of,  98 
Roller  trolley,  96 
Roof,  insulated  for  electric  locomotives, 

13 

Rub-irons  for  journal  boxes  and  pedes- 
tals, 39 


S 


Safety  devices  for  inspection  pit,  199 

for  shops,  200 

Sand-blasting  commutators,  46 
controller  boards,  46 
of  cars,  57 

repair  parts,  San  Francisco,  46 
Syracuse,  57 
trucks,  46 
drying  plant,  65 
Sander,  air-operated  on  interurban  cars, 

61 

Rochester,  62 

Sand  hopper,  removable  type,  61 
Scraper  for  snow   in   limited   clearance 

space,  66 
Screws,  method  of  holding  machine,  7 ' 


Seating  and  curtain  practice,  Brooklyn, 

14 
Seats,  protecting  rattan,  13 

rubber  seat  buffers  on  open  cars,  14 
Shaper  for  planing  journal  bearings,  86 
Shunting  kink,  173 
Sign  and  sign  box  manufacture,  182 
Signal  attachments  to  coupler,  2 

of  push-button  type  for  conductor, 

185 
Sign?,    painting  illuminated  destination 

signs,  184 

easel  for  painting  destination,  17 
of  route  type,  Peoria,  180 
on  glass,  58 
with  route  numbers,  183 

train  number,  181 
Sleet-cutter,    rotating    spiral    type    for 

wheels,  97 

-removing  device  for  third  rails,  101 
shoe,  pneumatic,  for  third  rail,  102 
Sleeves  for  axle-bearing,  42 
Slotting  of  commutators,  experience  in, 

116 

with  a  lathe,  208 
Snow  scraper  for  limited  clearance  space, 

66 

Splicing  with  silver  solder,  119 
Spring  between  dashboards,  2 
Steel  car  panels  over  wood,  11 
Steps,  home-made  safety  tread,  11 
Step-lighting     device     for     prepayment 

cars,  179 

Storeroom  shelves,  Syracuse,  216 
Sweeper  brooms,  jig  for  boring  centers 

of,  66 
Swing  links,  38 


Tell-tale  for  third-rail  shoe  tripper  signal, 

99 

Testing  armatures,  Brooklyn,  135 
Cincinnati,  136 

with  portable  transformer,  119 
circuit-breakers,  Montreal,  152 
fields  at  Brooklyn,  133 
heater,  Brooklyn,  175 
jumpers,  Brooklyn,  4 
motors,  Indianapolis,  136 
practical  shunting  kink,  173 
Third-rail  pneumatic  sleet  shoe,  102 


INDEX 


275 


Third-rail  shoe,  renewal  plate  for,  99 

tripper  tell-tale  signal,  99 
sleet-removing  device  for,  101 
Timbers,  handling  long,  204 
Tires,  gas  burner  for  heating,  218 
Trolley  adjusting  device,  98 

bases  with  truss  support,  99 
retriever,  repair  of,  98 
of  roller  type,  96 
-stand  repairs,  98 
-wheel  formula,  95 

manufacture,  New  Orleans,  95 
practice,  Atlanta,  95 

in  casting  formula,  95 
Train  cables  covered  with  rubber  hose,  3 
Transfer  box  for  conductors,  19 
-table,  cross-pit  truck,  195 

type,  signs  on  glass,  58 
Trap-door  lift,  10 
Tread,  home-made  safety,  11 
Truck  and  fender  painting  with  an  air 

brush,  56 
motor  cleansing  machine,  60 

with  caustic  soda,  46 
for  armatures,  205 
for  car  wheels  in  repair  shop,  197 
of  skeleton  type  for  armatures,  207 
for  wrecking,  Pittsburgh,  193 
Trucks,  sand-blasting  of,  46 


Varnish  handling  by  air  pressure,  57 


Ventilation,  single-end  arch-roof  cars,  9 
W 

Wagon  for  armature,  205 

Washing  cars,  disappearing  scaffold  for, 

49 

electric  heater  for,  47 
heating  water  for,  49 
motor-driven  device  for,  48 
versus  paint  preservation,  51 
gears,  60 

metal  parts  with  caustic  soda,  46 
Welding  with  electric  arc,  187 

Third  Avenue  Railway,  188 
electricity,  Pittsburgh,  186 
oxy-acetylene,  Hartford,  186 
Wheel-boring  with  lathe,  215 
changing,  Mobile,  45 
-gage,  Hartford,  40 

two-fold,  40 
-gages  and  practice,  Brooklyn,  42 

Indianapolis,  42 
Brooklyn,  42 
grinding,  Syracuse,  214 
Wheels,  gas  burner  for  heating  tires,  218 
Whistles  for  shop-protection  devices,  199 
Wiring  for  cars,  169 

Denver,  19 

Woodwork  drawings,  standard  sizes  in,  8 
Wrecking  truck,  Pittsburgh,  193 
Wrench  for  commutator  nuts,  214 


3 


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